Fractured Reality
by MunkeyBananananaProductions
Summary: Lily Myers just accepted a job in TNA. Someone she can't stand from her past is a Champion there. Soon she's forced to work with him to help someone that means everything to both of them.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. That is all. 

**A/N:** This story is a collaberation between myself, Phoenix-Satori10, and Liz1986. Let us know what you think in a review. Constructive criticism is greatly accepted. **_Phoenix

* * *

_**

Lily Myers nervously adjusted her business jacket and fussed with her honey blond hair - putting it into a ponytail and then pulling it out, only to put it in again. She was waiting to be called into Dixie Carter's office and was unbelievably stressed out by the interview she'd be facing on the other side of the door. Beside her, her 14 year old daughter scoffed. "Relax, mom. It's not like this is an interview with Donald Trump or something." The girl smirked.

"This is important to me, Kadence. I have to make a good impression." Lily told her quietly.

"Too bad Dixie's not a guy. You'd surely be able to strip your way into a job if she were." Kadence continued. Lily turned a harsh glare on her dark haired child.

"That's enough out of you. Just sit there quietly and think about why it is that I brought you with me, rather than leaving you at home." She stated.

Kadence lowered her head, just a little, so that her mother would think she was doing what she'd been told to. In a way, she was. It had been perfect! So many kids had talked idly about pranking the principal of her school but only she'd had enough guts to actually do it. She was now facing a lengthy suspension, of course, but it was well worth it. A perfect prank and a holiday. Who could ask for more?

"Ms Myers, they'll see you now." Dixie's receptionist smiled at Lily.

"Thank you. Kadence, stay put. I shouldn't be long." Lily said as she got to her feet and walked towards the door to Dixie's office.

"Yeah, it won't take long for you to screw up. See you soon." Kadence smiled sweetly after her mothers retreating form. She watched her mother tense up slightly, obviously having heard her parting words.

Once inside the office, Lily was surprised to see Jeff Jarrett standing in front of Dixie Carter's desk. He offered her his hand to shake and motioned for her to take a seat next to him. Dixie smiled at her warmly and she felt all her concerns and stress slip away.

"Lily, thanks for coming. This is Jeff Jarrett, he'll be telling you a little about the position we have for you within the company." Dixie told her. Lily was a little taken aback.

"You mean, I already have the job?" She asked curiously.

"You sure do. I've read through your resume and I think you're perfect for what we need. Jeff, I'll let you take over." Dixie smiled. Jeff nodded at her and turned to Lily.

"Well, primarily, you'll be coming in to the company as my personal assistant. You'll be helping me out with things like rounding up people I need to meet with, or passing out scripts, that kind of thing. Eventually, you might end up with a spot in front of the camera, maybe managing someone or being a backstage interviewer. Think you can handle it?" Jeff asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Absolutely. Although... I'd rather not have too much to do with the wrestlers, if at all possible. I mean, I understand that this is a wrestling company but..." Lily stammered a little before Jarrett finished her sentence for her.

"There's someone in particular that you'd like to avoid?" He figured.

Lily nodded uncertainly. She didn't really want to have to talk about her past, or her history with the person she wanted to avoid. Still, it looked as though she was going to have to in order to keep the job they'd just given her. Jeff was looking at Dixie with a worried expression on his face. The expression on Dixie's face was more thoughtful.

"You're from Ft. Wright, Kentucky, according to your resume. There's only one person that I can think of that we have working with us who also comes from Ft. Wright." Dixie told her. Lily gulped. Jeff finally caught on.

"Chris Harris. Why would you want to avoid him?" He wondered.

"We have history that he decided to throw away when he started pursuing wrestling. I'd rather not have to see him everyday but this job is almost too good to be true, you know." Lily reasoned.

"Right. Well, I can't promise that you won't see Chris but, the job's still yours if you want it." Jeff told her, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable by prying into the 'history' she'd mentioned.

"I'll take it." Lily finally decided.

Meanwhile, Kadence was getting bored just sitting in the waiting room. Figuring the interview would take a while, she decided she'd find something for herself to do.

"Hey, could you tell my mother that I've gone to the bathroom?" Kadence asked the secretary.

"Sure, sweetie." The older lady smiled at her kindly.

Kadence faked a smile in reply and left the room. She wandered down a few of the hallways, taking in the sights and sounds around her. Hearing a whoop of laughter, she figured she may as well investigate it. She made her way over to a door that was not quite completely closed. Peeking in, she spotted two guys obviously enjoying challenging each other on some kind of video game.

"Ugh. Boys and their toys." Kadence spoke quietly.

Not quite quietly enough, though, as one of the guys turned towards her. Kadence took a few stunned steps backwards and turned to run as the guy got up from his seat. He managed to catch up with her before she ran and he grabbed for her wrist.

"Slow down. What's the rush?" The dark haired guy asked with a friendly smile as Kadence turned towards him. She tested the strength of the grip on her wrist and realized it was a little tight.

"Let me go." She ordered.

The smile on his face grew a little which only served to annoy her more. She balled her free hand into a fist and swung wildly for him. By now, his fair headed friend had come out of the locker room and was leaning against a wall watching the interaction.

"Let her go, Andy. She'll hurt herself before she manages to hit you." He joked. Andy laughed as Kadence swung yet again, her fist missing by inches.

"Fine. I'll let you go but you have to stick around and answer two questions for me. Deal?" Andy offered.

Kadence scowled but nodded, wanting nothing more than her freedom – and to wipe the stupid smiles off their faces. Andy slowly released his grip on the girl, half expecting her to bolt. She stood in front of him, rubbing at her wrist and waiting for him to ask his questions.

Chase watched from the sidelines, knowing exactly why Andy had stopped her. She was right up his alley. She looked like a classic goth stereotype – dressed in a black corset style top, black pants. Her hair was shorter at the back, longer in the front, dyed black with a purple streak on one side and a blue streak on the other. Her make up was dark – black lipstick, smoky gray eyeshadow, heavy mascara and eyeliner, not to mention the black nail polish on her fingernails. Chase bet himself that her toenails were painted black too.

"Can we get to the questions or do you need to go look them up first?" She asked with a heavy sigh.

"Funny. Who are you?" Andy asked, his curiosity evident.

"Does it matter?" She shot back. Chase stifled a laugh. Her attitude amused him.

"Yeah, it does. We weren't aware that there was supposed to be fan access today. Which leads to my second question – what are you doing back here?" Andy continued, getting a little more serious.

"Looking for a bathroom. Guess your locker room doesn't qualify, although it smells almost as bad as a sewer. Either of you ever heard of deodorant?" The girl smirked. Andy looked insulted by this but Chase finally let out a laugh.

"Classic." He smiled. She looked at him with mild disdain for a moment before turning to walk away from them both.

"Hey, wait. Where are you going?" Andy called after her.

"I would answer that but the deal was for two questions and you've already asked them. Bye now." She called over her shoulder. Andy looked to Chase for some help but he shrugged and wandered back into the locker room.

Kadence walked further and further into the maze of hallways and wondered if maybe this was a bad idea. What were the chances she'd be able to find her way back to the office before her mother came out of the interview? Figuring her mother would send out a search party to find her even if she hadn't gotten lost, Kadence went on her way.

Before long, the hallway opened out into a spacial area. Tables and chairs were set up for people to sit at, and there was a canteen type area along one wall. Pulling her wallet from her pocket, Kadence dug through it and counted how much change she had. Looking up at the board where the prices were listed, she realized she didn't have enough money to buy anything.

"Damn mom holding back my allowance." She muttered before turning and wandering down another hallway. That had been part of the punishment for pranking her principal – no computer, Tv or allowance for a month.

Coming across another door in the hallway, Kadence stopped to read the name plaque. Raven. Wondering what, or who, was on the other side of the door, Kadence turned the handle. After pushing the door open a little, she stuck her head inside to get a look around. Seeing that no one was in there, she let herself in and closed the door behind her.

Looking around again, she spotted a gym bag sitting in front of a locker against the far wall. Natural curiosity getting the better of her, she made her way over to see what was inside. Sitting on top of a pile of clothes was a wallet and a wrist watch. Picking up the watch to inspect it, she realized it was nothing special. The wallet now drew her attention more.

She dropped the watch back into the bag and lifted the wallet out. It was a plain black fake leather wallet which felt quite bulky. As she opened it up, a few store receipts fell to the floor. Ignoring them, Kadence searched through the wallet to see what else it contained. Finding a couple of $10 notes in the billfold, Kadence slipped one out and pushed it into her pocket.

She did up the wallet and placed it back in the bag before making her way back over to the door. Peeking her head out, she checked the hallway quickly before slipping out of the locker room and pulling the door closed as she went. She failed to notice the hand that stopped the door from closing completely. Failed to notice Raven going into his locker room.

He hadn't failed to notice her exiting the room and now wondered what she'd been doing in there. Spotting the receipts on the floor, he grabbed his wallet and flipped it open as he left the room to follow the young girl. Counting the bills his wallet contained, he came up short by $10. Growling low in his throat, he watched as the girl pulled a drink from the chiller and handed over a $10 note to pay for it. He walked over and stood behind her just as she turned around.

"How sweet. You read my mind and saw how thirsty I was, so you went into my locker room, took money from my wallet and came to get me a drink. I'll take that. And the change, too." Raven told her, without an ounce of humor in his voice, as he took the drink out of her hand and held his free one out for her to hand over the change.

Kadence cursed her luck as she dropped the change into the man's outstretched hand. The tone of his voice let her know straight away that she was in trouble. Her mother was going to kill her – if she found out.

"Congratulations, you caught me. I'll just be going now." Kadence decided, pointing one way and then running the other. Raven's outstretched arm caught her around the waist and he pulled her back to stand in front of him.

"Nice try but, I don't think so." He stated.

Kadence pushed his arm away and folded her arms across her chest, striking the natural angry girl pose. Raven raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was that she had to be angry about.

"So, Little Miss Thief, got a name? I'd like to know who it is that I'm reporting to the police." He asked as he pulled his cellphone from his pocket, not expecting to get an answer. Kadence smirked, smelling the bluff for what it was.

"Nice try but, I don't think so." She mocked.

Just then, Lily walked into the catering area. She had been frantically looking for her daughter since leaving Dixie's office and finding her gone. Bathroom break? Yeah, right. Kadence's history made Lily sure that she was getting into trouble of some kind. Spotting Kadence glaring at Raven, Lily made her way over to them with an inward groan.

"Kadence, I thought I told you to stay put. What's going on?" Lily asked as she stood between the 14 year old and the wrestler. Raven watched as all expression and emotion drained from the girl's face, leaving her paler than she was before. It didn't look like she was going to offer an answer any time soon.

"She yours?" Raven asked cautiously. He couldn't imagine that this dark, rebellious child belonged to such a tidy, respectable looking woman.

"Depends on what she's done." Lily replied with a weak smile.

Kadence didn't even bother to reply to that one – very unoriginal in her opinion. Instead, she stared at the floor, digging her shoe into the carpet with 100 disinterest in whatever her mother had to say now. Whoever the dude was, he didn't scare her and Lily sure as hell didn't have much affect on her anymore.

Raven glared at this much screwed up kid and couldn't help but wonder what her mother must have done to result in her turning out like this. Or, alternatively, what event in their lives took place that could send this otherwise attractive girl into such a wild state. Either way, he wanted a full apology from her. He didn't give a damn as to whether it was sincere or not because he knew that just getting the words out of a gothic/punk kid was hard enough – enough damage to their pride, if they had any left.

Lily, meanwhile, was silently fuming – once again, Kadence had done nothing but cause trouble and humiliate them both. Maybe it didn't matter to her, but for Lily who had just been offered, and accepted a position here, this meant a lot. And, as God as her witness, she was not going to let Kadence get away with it this time. Controlling her temper, she tore her eyes away from her pouting daughter to look at this guy who had apparently got into a confrontation with her.

"So, uh… what's she done now, exactly?"

Raven crossed his arms. "I caught your kid – Kadence – hauling ass out of my locker room. And surprise, surprise I turn out to be minus ten dollars when I check my wallet thirty seconds later!"

Kadence didn't flinch at all as he rehashed the details of their encounter and continued to gaze at the dull carpet as if it held some significance or interest. It was a good thing she avoided her mother's very harsh look as well, because if looks could kill… well, let's just say she was drilling holes into the back of Kadence's head with such an icy stare.

Nowadays, she wouldn't put it past the fourteen year old to progress to theft – she was such a handful. Lily Myers was a single mother, 32 years of age, trying to juggle paying the bills and also taking care of a trouble-ridden child who was quickly losing her grip on reality and life itself.

But she kept her composure, though felt the anger rising in her… what had she done to result in having such a fucked up kid? This wasn't right. As much as she loved her daughter, Kadence was quickly proving to be too much for her to handle, and now this very freaky-looking dude had caught her stealing money?

"Oh God…" she muttered, casting a sideways glance to her daughter who was now staring around the large room, not paying attention at all. Looking at Raven again, she stumbled to find words – she wanted to protect Kadence, but at the same time knew that she couldn't make excuses for her behavior. Not anymore. "I am… so sorry, Mr.?"

"Levy." He snapped, his annoyance more than seeping through his relatively calm demeanor. "Scott Levy. And you are?"

"I'm Lily… uh, Lily Myers. And my daughter is very sorry for causing you trouble…" she stopped and turned to Kadence. "Right, Kadence?"

As expected, she got no response from the Goth and sighed, reached out and firmly grabbed her jaw (though not hard enough to hurt her), and forcibly turned her head so she could meet her eyes. It wasn't like Lily to show any sort of force with Kadence, but in the wake of receiving this huge new career prospect, there was gonna be zero tolerance with her now.

Kadence successfully pulled away from her mother and took a few steps back.

"Whatever." she mumbled, with a soured expression. Raven didn't look convinced.

"I'd rather hear her say it, if you don't mind." He told Lily. Lily honestly didn't like his chances of ever hearing an apology out of Kadence. Lily hadn't heard one from her child in the last three years. Things had slowly been going from bad to worse for both of them, but this just topped it all.

"Apologize to the man, Kadence." She spoke quickly, wanting this confrontation to be over and forgotten about. Kadence continued with her disinterest and silence.

"Kadence!" Lily snapped loudly. She was on the verge of losing the plot, no matter how hard she tried to hold on.

Kadence turned her gaze back to her mother, her eyes seething with unspoken anger and frustration. There was no way she was going to say anything to this guy. It was his own fault, anyway. Who in their right mind would leave their wallet in plain sight? Deciding she'd had enough of the whole thing, Kadence turned on her heel and walked away. Lily watched her go and sighed such a deep sigh that Raven thought the weight of the world must be crushing down on her shoulders. Deciding he was in a more... sympathetic mood, he made an offer he thought was fair.

"How about you give me permission to have Kadence as my... personal assistant or, for lack of a better word, lackey, until she swallows her pride and offers up an apology?"

Lily turned to look at him with suspicion clearly written on her face. Where did this guy get off, asking to have a fourteen year old as his 'personal assistant'? Then again... if Kadence was forced to help him out, she wouldn't have time to get into trouble and Lily would be able to keep an eye on her from afar. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad?

"I suppose anything is worth a try now. Be warned, she's a temperamental fourteen year old." Lily gave in with a small smile. Raven laughed.

"I hadn't noticed." He told her with a conspiratorial wink.

Kadence paced her way angrily down the hallway. Scott Levy had no right to ask for an apology from her. He got his money back – in one way or another, with the drink and the change. She started pondering ways to get him back for his arrogance, her anger not yet abating. She was staring down at the carpet of the hall as she walked so she didn't notice the two guys heading straight for her. They both wore long jackets and one had a cowboy hat on his head and a beer bottle in his hand.

"Man, you have got to lay off the drinking. The bottle's meant to be a prop. Use an empty one for promos from now on, okay?" The guy without the cowboy hat told the other, so absorbed in their conversation that he didn't notice the gothic girl on a direct collision course with himself.

"Relax, Chris. So I like to have a drink sometimes, no biggie." The cowboy replied before turning his attention to the collision that was just about to happen. Why bother stopping it? It could prove to be amusing.

"Ow! God damn it! Get out of my way." Kadence fumed, her anger at Scott being displaced and reflected onto the person she'd just run into.

"Get out of your way? You ran into me, little girl." Chris shot back. The guy in the cowboy hat snickered, obviously enjoying the altercation.

"And what the heck are you laughing at, you liquored up cowboy hick?" Kadence glared at him.

"Ouch! Chris, did the girl with the Kentucky accent just try to insult me? I can't tell under all that make up." The cowboy joked.

"James, shut the hell up. We have a promo to get to. Scoot, you little rug rat." Chris tried to brush past Kadence, only to trip over her outstretched foot. Watching his tag team partner hit the floor only made James laugh harder.

"Oops, my bad. Jackass." Kadence muttered.

Lily had followed after Kadence in order to tell her about Raven's plan. She was still nervous about working in TNA, seeing as someone from her past that she'd rather forget was currently one half of the tag team champions. She had been hoping, praying and wishing that she wouldn't run into him. Instead, Kadence had. Lily stopped in the hallway and watched as Chris Harris fell to the floor after tripping over the foot that Kadence had put in his way.

"Oh, good lord, this girl is trying to kill me!" Lily muttered to herself as she continued down the hall.

"Kady, do you think you could stay out of trouble for five minutes, please? That door down there on the left is my office, go wait for me in there. I'll be in to talk to you in a minute." Lily told her daughter calmly, hoping they wouldn't have a repeat of the earlier performance.

Kadence turned her attention towards her mother briefly before looking down the hall at the door she'd pointed out. Deciding to go sit in the office rather than listen to her mother trying to get her to apologize to another waste of space, Kadence sent one more glare at both men before walking off.

James had bent slightly to help Chris up from the floor so Lily used one hand to help pull the man to his feet. Once he was upright again, Chris took one look at Lily and almost fell back to the floor. She was the last person he'd ever expected to see there.

"Lil? What are you doing here?" He asked the woman in front of him in slight amazement.

"I just signed a contract to be Jeff Jarrett's personal assistant, if you must know. It's not easy raising a kid on nothing." Lily told him, the bitterness in her tone surprising James.

"That... that was Kadence?" Chris asked in disbelief. He'd figured the girl was another wrestler's daughter, or maybe belonged to one of the staff. He'd never imagined that she was... well, his.

"In all her glory. Goodbye, Chris." Lily sighed as she walked towards her office.

"Who... was that? And who's Kadence?" James wondered, pausing briefly to follow Lily with his eyes.

"That was Lily... my ex. Kadence is our kid." Chris admitted, also watching after her.

"Wait... what?" James asked, not believing what he was hearing.

"Lily and I were together in high school. Shortly after graduation, I got her pregnant. That answer everything for you?" Chris offered.

"Not quite. Why does she hate you so much... and how come you didn't recognize your own daughter?" James pressed.

"Rather not talk about it. We have a promo to get to." Chris told him before walking in the direction that Lily had come from.

Lily made her way into her office and almost smiled at the sight of Kadence sitting in the chair behind the desk, her feet propped up and her hands behind her head. The sight didn't quite rid Lily of the image of her daughter tripping Chris up. She was secretly quite pleased but was also worried that Chris may try to confront Kadence about it at some point.

"Feet off the desk, Kady. You and I need to talk." Lily told her. Kadence grudgingly removed her feet from the desk.

"So talk. Standard lecture number three, is it? What I did was very wrong and I should never do it again. Times it by two – once for the money thing and the other for tripping the guy in the hall, right?" Kadence guessed, a wry smile on her face. Lily sighed.

"I have three points to make. One: You are now Scott Levy's personal assistant. You will do whatever he tells you to do. Your only way out of it is to apologize for stealing from him." Lily paused and watched the smile slide from Kadence's face.

"Two: If you so much as try to prank Scott, or anyone else, while you are here, the punishment will be ten times worse than any other punishment you have ever received. I need... WE need this, Kady." Lily continued, trying not to plead with her daughter too much. Kadence opened her mouth to speak but Lily cut her off.

"Three: Stay as far away as possible from those two guys out there. If either of them tries to talk to you, pretend they're me and walk away. Am I understood?" Lily finished. Kadence thought it over.

"One: Fine. Two: Whatever. Three: What the hell? Why would you even care?" She wondered.

"Would you rather that I punish you for tripping the guy? Because, if that's the case..." Lily reasoned. Kadence changed her tune quickly.

"Fine, I'll stay away from the drunken, hick cowboy and his boy toy." She agreed.

"Thank you. Now, go find Scott and see what he wants you to do." Lily told her. Kadence got to her feet and stomped out of the office, slamming the door behind her. Lily let out a small breath of relief.

Kadence wandered the halls, looking for Scott. The more she thought about her mother's three points, the less she understood why Lily had asked her to stay away from the two guys in the hall. Did her mother honestly think she was worried about the cowboy and the jackass? Or maybe there was a different reason? Kadence let out a frustrated growl. She had to work this out, had to find out why her mother had made the two guys off limits. There had to be a reason. As she rounded a corner, she spotted Scott leaning against a wall, almost as if he was expecting her.

"Slave, reporting for duty, sir." Kadence mock saluted. Scott almost laughed.

"I find it funny that you'd rather I humiliate you by making you my assistant than apologize. Is it really so hard for you to swallow your pride?" He asked.

"Just tell me what the heck you want me to do, already." Kadence replied, still mulling over the conversation with her mother.

"For now, just follow me around. If I think of anything, you'll be the first to know." Scott decided.

"Oh, yawn. Why ask for me to be your slave if you don't have anything for me to do?" Kadence posed, her annoyance continuing to amuse Scott.

"Honestly, I didn't think your mother would allow it. Seems that you've trod on her last nerve, though." He told her before walking down the hall. Kadence stood stock still and watched him go. Halfway down the hall, he turned back.

"You coming?" He asked. Kadence wondered what he'd do if she said no, but reluctantly followed after him. Once she'd caught up, Scott continued on his way with her at his heels.

"Scott... can I ask you something?" Kadence asked hesitantly. This served to catch Scott totally off guard. He'd been expecting her to continue her sarcastic or silent ways.

"Go for it." Scott nodded, making sure to show her the proper amount of attention.

"Why would my mother tell me to stay away from two guys that I've never met until ten minutes ago?" Kadence questioned.

"What? How would I know? You've known her a hell of a lot longer than I have." Scott answered, the question not making any sense to him at all.

"See, that's the thing, I can't work it out. I ran into this guy in the hall after leaving you and mom. He was extremely impolite so I tripped him up. The other guy laughed his stupid cowboy head off. Then mom comes in and sends me to her office, only to make a point about me staying away from them. Why tell me to stay away from them when I clearly want nothing to do with them anyway?" Kadence pushed.

"Hmm. Cowboy? That would probably be James Storm. The other guy, I would assume, would be his tag partner, Chris Harris. I have no idea why she'd want you to stay away from them though." Scott figured.

"Guess I'll have to ask one of them, then." Kadence decided pointedly.

"You live to make your mother's life harder, huh?" Scott queried.

"Not like she hasn't made my life harder. I mean, I'm 14 and she has never once told me anything about my father. Any time I ask, she changes the subject or just walks away." Kadence fumed. She took a deep breath and steeled herself again, realizing she had said too much.

"But, whatever. It's not like I care, anyway." She shrugged nonchalantly, slipping back into her normal closed off state.

"Of course you don't. And your little stunts aren't designed to get her attention. Not at all." Scott smirked, using the art of sarcasm well.

Kadence rolled her eyes and kept quiet. She hated the way he acted as if he knew her. He didn't know the first thing about her, or her life. Where did he get off assuming that everything she did was a cry for attention? Heck, most of the things she did were purely for her own entertainment. Boredom often led her to pranking someone. It had nothing to do with her mother. As they were passing through the ring area, someone called out to Scott from in the ring.

"Raven, could you throw me that towel, man?" The dark haired wrestler called.

"I can do one better. Kadence, take the towel to Andy." Scott decided, finally finding a use for her. Kadence groaned but picked up the towel and walked towards the ring before holding it out to the guy she'd had an earlier run in with.

"Kadence, huh. Nice name." Andy smirked.

"Bite me, dickweed." Kadence mumbled. Before she could retract her hand, Andy playfully bit it.

"What the hell! Dude, that is so gross!" Kadence hissed as she wiped her hand furiously on the towel that Andy now held.

"Lesson one for today, Kadence. Never tell someone that's obsessed with vampires to bite you. They will always take you up on the offer." Scott smirked.

"Could have used that information before I said it." Kadence glared at Scott. Scott laughed.

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't be having as much fun right now." He retorted.

"She yours, man?" Andy asked Scott with a grin on his face, thinking that maybe he'd finally get a proper answer to his second question from earlier.

"No, thank god. Her mother has just been hired as Jarrett's backstage assistant. Kadence has decided to do me the same honor." Scott answered. Andy took in the information and nodded.

"Welcome to TNA then, Kadence. I'm Andy Douglas." He smiled at her, offering his hand for her to shake. Kadence looked at his hand as if it was on fire.

"Shake the man's hand, girl." Scott insisted. Kadence reached out hesitantly and placed her hand in Andy's. They shook for a few seconds before he let her hand go.

"You were expecting me to bite again, weren't you?" Andy teased. Kadence looked away. That's exactly what she'd thought he'd do.

"I only bite when asked to." Andy assured her.

"Can we get out of here now?" Kadence addressed Scott, totally ignoring Andy's comment.

"Actually, I wanted to do some work in the ring. You up for it, Andy?" Scott wondered. Andy got to his feet and bounced off the ropes.

"Bring it on!" He called to Scott.

Scott shook his head in amusement as he shed his jacket. He held the jacket out to Kadence and shook it when she didn't get the hint. Finally realizing what he expected, Kadence took the jacket from him and hung it over her arm. Andy watched in silence before wondering if the same trick might work for him. He held the towel out towards Kadence and waited. Kadence raised an eyebrow at him but didn't move.

"Take the damn towel." Scott ordered before climbing into the ring. Kadence snatched the towel out of Andy's hand and shook her head at his smug look.

"Laugh it up, dickweed. You'll get yours." She muttered under her breath. Already, a prank was forming in her mind. Scott and Andy traded holds and various wrestling moves for a while before they were interrupted by Chris Harris and James Storm coming into the ring.

"You two, out, now." Chris ordered. Scott and Andy stopped and glared at the current tag team champs.

"We're working here." Andy informed them. Chris stepped over and stood toe to toe with him.

"Not anymore, you're not." He stated before grabbing Andy by the back of the neck and throwing him over the top rope, straight into Kadence. Scott had tried to stop it happening but James took him down to the mat, hard, before he could.

"Ow! Fuck. Watch what you're doing, you retard!" Kadence yelled at Chris after she only just managed to stop herself from hitting her head on the floor as Andy knocked her to the ground. Unfortunately, Andy wasn't as lucky and ended up knocking himself out. Kadence untangled herself from him quickly.

"Who are you calling a retard?" Chris shot back, heatedly, not noticing who he was talking to. Not until she was climbing into the ring, anyway. As she stood up after climbing through the ropes, he finally realized.

"You, you moron! What kind of an egotistical asshole are you? Just because Andy and Scott had the ring, you wanted it? You couldn't wait five minutes for them to get done? You had to go throw Andy right into me? You're fucked in the head, dude!" Kadence yelled, getting right into Chris' face. Scott tried to get free of James but he wasn't having a bar of it and lay a few well aimed punches into his midsection, successfully winding him.

"Well, jackass, what have you got to say for yourself, huh?" Kadence questioned, shoving Chris slightly.

Chris was still stunned. There, right in front of him, was the daughter he'd never been given the chance to know. He wanted to say so many things to her... tell her how much she meant to him. Instead...

"I... I... I..." He stammered. Kadence shook her head. This guy was clearly out of his mind! She took a quick glance at Scott who was still being beaten by James, and then turned back to Chris.

"I don't need this shit." She muttered before turning and leaving the ring again. She spared a passing glance for Andy and then headed up the ramp and into the tunnel that she knew led backstage.

"What the hell, Chris? Are you just going to let her talk to you like that?" James asked his friend, now abandoning Scott.

"I didn't know what to say." Chris told him honestly.

Scott managed to catch his breath and was now worried about Andy. He rolled closer to the edge of the ring and looked down to see the younger man out cold. Knowing that was a bad thing, Scott rolled out of the ring and knelt next to Andy, being careful not to move him.

"Andy, wake up. Come on... wake up." Scott spoke quietly as James and Chris were still in the ring.

James was staring at Chris as if he had two heads. Scott found it mildly interesting that Chris had shut down upon sight of Kadence. He was sure that James was wondering the same thing he was – had Chris gone soft? Andy started to rouse and Scott watched as he put a hand to the back of his head and groaned.

"You should have told her not to talk to you like that." James berated Chris.

"She doesn't know, James. Just leave it alone, okay?" Chris pleaded, trying to push the other man away. Scott motioned for Andy to keep quiet and helped him into a sitting position. He wanted to hear what it was that Chris thought Kadence didn't know.

"No, I won't leave it alone! You're her father! She has no right to talk to you like that." James yelled at him. Andy raised an eyebrow, wondering what the hell was going on. Scott, got to his feet and stood looking up at the two men in the ring.

"Please, tell me you're kidding, Storm." He spoke up. Chris and James both turned their attention towards Scott. Chris let out a breath as he realized that Scott had heard every word of what James had said.

"Thanks, James. And, while we're at it, fuck you as well." Chris hissed at his partner before hitting him upside the head.

"Ow! What the hell was that for? I didn't know he was listening." James pointed out. Scott climbed into the ring and stood in front of both men.

"Is it true?" He asked Chris calmly. Chris looked away, in a sight that was definitely reminiscent of Kadence – at least, to Scott anyway.

"I guess it is, then. Certainly explains a hell of a lot. Although, it poses another question. Why would Lily tell your daughter to stay away from you?" Scott pondered.

"She what?" Chris snapped back to reality quickly.

"After Kadence tripped you, Lily told her to stay away from you and James. Care to explain that for me?" Scott asked.

"The last time I saw Kady, she was... not quite a year old. Lily had given me an ultimatum. I either chose to pursue wrestling or I asked her to marry me and finally make the three of us family. She said I couldn't have it both ways as she wouldn't put up with me being away so much. It wouldn't be fair to Kadence. I didn't think she was serious and went off to train. When I tried contacting her again, she told me I'd made my choice and had to live with it. She wouldn't let me see Kadence. I tried, god did I try." Chris replied honestly.

He pulled his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and opened it before handing it to Scott. Scott looked down at it and saw a photo of a beautiful baby girl with a goofy baby smile on her face. It was hard for him to believe that this child had grown into the angry young person he'd been dealing with.

"She was around... ten months old there. It wasn't long after that was taken that I went to train." Chris mused as he took back his wallet.

* * *

**A/N2:** So, do Lizzie and I a favour and let us know what you think of the first chapter. Reviews are much appreciated. Senseless flames will be used to roast marshmellows, so bring it on. **_Phoenix_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. That is all. 

**A/N:** Lizzie has decided to remain somewhat quiet so I get to write this again... um... hi. This chapter is a little longer than the last one with lots of action and emotions running high. Let us know what you think by leaving a review. Thanks. **_Phoenix_**

**_

* * *

_**Lily placed the cup of coffee at Jarrett's right side and stood up straight – he barely acknowledged her presence as he continued to fill out various forms that required all his attention. The only thing she got was a brief wave and she took the hint, stepping away to give him his space. 

"Anything else you need?" she asked, as politely as possible, still reeling from the encounter she and Kady had with Chris… of all people, the one person she wanted her daughter to not come in contact with… it was frustrating.

Anger was mixed with guilt of seeing Chris' reaction to realizing who that kid was, and also confusion and not knowing what to do next. The question was what she was going to tell Kadence now, there was no way she'd be able to keep this from her for long, and it would be ten times worse if she found out from anyone else. But now they were in a position where Lily's past would undoubtedly cause a lot of trouble that they didn't need.

Jarrett looked up only briefly, sensing the tension in her voice that suggested she was distracted. Years in this business taught him to see through the facades; the pretenses. He wasn't a heartless bastard, except for in the ring, and considered asking her what was wrong. Probably first-day nerves.

"Is there anything wrong, Ms. Myers?"

No first name basis yet. Lily came around to stand in front of his desk, and shook her head and plastered what she knew to be a fake smile. "No, sir."

"Good. But you better get out of those first day nerves; I'm gonna have you running all over the place with business. I assume you can handle that responsibility?" he drawled with an underlying condescending tone. Lily wisely ignored it.

"Yes, sir."

"Here," he pulled something out of his pocket and reached out to her from behind the desk. It was a pager. "You'll be needing this, now only Dixie and myself have the number so you keep that with you at all business times, clear?"

"I understand," she responded and immediately took it; inspecting it carefully. Brand new. "Thanks."

"Your welcome," Jarrett replied and was again back to busily filling out forms. "Now I need you to do somethin' for me, sweetheart."

Lily tensed. Sweetheart? Her first assumption of Jeff Jarrett had just been confirmed – chauvinistic, condescending bastard. But, in good nature, she nodded her head and waited for the instructions and while Jarrett finished his documents, her mind wandered to where her daughter was and hoped she was proving to be too much to handle for Scott Levy.

Though he seemed stern enough and like he had seen enough bullshit so that he could handle a fourteen year old child, Lily knew Kady better than anyone. Her daughter could be sneaky, manipulative, deceptive more trouble than any of those wrestlers would be prepared for. And Chris… he wasn't gonna make things easy. The look in his eyes when he saw her and Kadence again, she knew he wasn't done with her just yet. After all, she did take his child away from him and refused to give him access to her, so yeah he was pissed. Shocked at first, but the anger would be brewing, Lily knew Chris all too well. Finally, when Jarrett was finished what he was doing, he looked up at her with a stern expression.

"James Storm. I need you to find the son-of-a-bitch and drag his sorry ass back here."

Lily didn't say anything, and her confusion rang through clear as day. Jarrett sighed.

"He screwed up the promo he filmed last week – idiot was trashed out of his mind. I need you to bring him here so I can give him a piece of my mind. Usually he hangs by the ring. I trust you will have no trouble?"

Lily quickly nodded and wrote down on a small pad that had written down all her obligations that she had already, and at the bottom of the list added the name 'James Storm'. Naturally, she didn't know who he was or who he was affiliated with, so she saw no problem with it and promptly excused herself from Jarrett's presence. After closing the door behind her, Lily checked both ways and saw a sign on the opposite wall that indicated the direction of the main arena and followed where it told her to go.

Five minutes later, she walked out onto the main stage where the wrestlers made their entrances and stopped dead in her tracks. The place was huge when it was put into perspective, and Lily was in awe of it. But quickly she was pulled back to reality when the talking and noise coming from the ring reached her ears and staring over there, she recognized Scott and Chris but not the other two guys – one was struggling to get up and looking more than a bit disoriented, like he had been knocked out, while the other just stood next to him and seemed a bit distracted while at the same time, enjoying the other dude's struggles. And then there was Chris. Damn. Why did he have to turn up in the same places she did? Was this fate playing fucked up mind games with her?

"Come on, Lil," she tried to pump herself up with confidence. "It's no big deal – you're both adults now, not nineteen anymore. We can handle this maturely. He means nothing…" her voice wavered when she said that last part aloud, knowing full well the affect Harris had on her and that once upon a time she had loved him like no other. And then he betrayed her and their child. So to say he means nothing would be an obvious lie, but this was Lily's way to get herself in a position of confidence. "You can do this, girl."

With one last final deep breath, Lily started walking down the ring but after only taking no more than five or six steps, she stopped. There was Scott – but where was Kadence? Oh no, that tiny voice in the back of Lily's head groaned. Not again… what trouble has she thrown herself into this time?

Scott finished helping Andy to his feet and held onto him to keep the dazed guy from toppling over again, and was the first one to spot Lily approaching them. Andy also noticed her and also took note of Scott's reaction. It wasn't long before it dawned on him. James was the next to see her, and as you could guess, Chris remained oblivious as she came up behind him. But upon seeing his colleague's changed expressions, he frowned and looked over his shoulder to see what was up, and every muscle in his body tensed up at seeing the woman who broke his heart and stole his daughter away from him. But Lily paid no attention to him and was determined to remain professional, and focused on the two individuals she didn't know – one she did recognize as being with Chris earlier that day when she found Kadence.

"Which one of you is James Storm?" she flatly asked. Andy pointed at James just as he stepped forward to her.

"Me. You're Lily, right?"

Lily cast a sideways glance at her ex who was glaring coldly at her. Yep. He was pissed. "I am." She then looked at Andy who was still recovering. "And you are?"

"Andy," he stuck his hand out, and was surprised that she was the mother of that vicious, vindictive little girl. Lily was pleasant, though. "Andy Douglas. You're Kadence's mom?"

Lily shot another deathly look at Chris, while still addressing Andy. All desires to avoid confrontation went out the window when it was revealed that she had apparently been the topic of conversation between these men. "Oh, so I guess you guys have been busy talking?"

Chris turned away and Scott stepped in to ease the tension. "It kinda… came up, Lily. Andy and I were down at the ring doing a workout, Chris and James came out and we kinda got into it…"

"Kinda?"

He shrugged. "Okay, so we had a bit of a confrontation. Anyway, Kadence was caught in the middle when Chris and Andy started going back and forth, and Chris accidentally shoved Andy into her, and she ran off--"

"What?" Lily interrupted again, caught by surprise.

"It was no big deal," Scott continued. "She wasn't hurt, it was an accident—"

But Lily wasn't listening anymore and her anger was set to boil over – there was no way she wanted to get into a confrontation with her ex on the first day that could result in her getting her ass kicked out the door already… this was going too far, though.

"Where's Kadence?" she demanded and didn't care who answered.

"She ran off," Andy spoke up. "Not long ago."

"Fuck," Lily muttered. When Kadence didn't want to be found, you better believe she wasn't going to be found. "Great, just great! Is that what you want, Chris? Is that how bad you didn't want her?"

"That isn't fair!" he exploded. All the emotion and anger that had been building up for almost thirteen years was coming up now, it could not be stopped and this woman had the nerve to call him a negligent father? "Don't you fucking dare start that shit again, Lily, you're the one who took her away from me!"

Scott, James, and Andy stood back a bit and none of them had any idea how to cool this down, and silently and unanimously agreed to stay out of it. Some things, apparently, needed to be said. Lily was dangerously close to slapping the taste out of his mouth and doing something that would guarantee he wouldn't be having anymore children.

"You son of a bitch! You chose your career over your own family!"

"It's not like you gave me a choice!"

"I gave you a choice!"

"You gave me a God damn ultimatum! What were you expecting me to do, Lily?" he yelled, stepping behind her and circling her. "Drop everything and marry you? Give up everything I worked for to I could keep you and Kadence happy?"

"You didn't do this for us, you bastard, you did this for yourself!" Lily screamed. They both knew it was bound to come to this, but both hoped it wouldn't be so soon and there was no controlling the emotions now. "You left us for your career!"

"I supported you and our child, didn't I? I kept you fed and clothed; I took care of you and you know it!" he retorted and came even closer to her. Scott started to move forward but Andy grabbed his arm and pulled him back, shaking his head and whispered something to the affect of 'stay out of it'. "I would've done anything for you and Kadence, Lily. Anything."

"Except give up this wrestling crap."

"What else did you expect me to do? Be a brain surgeon? You didn't want me to do this because you thought I was gonna die!"

"That's the fucking business, Chris! People die here. I wanted our daughter to grow up with her mother and father together! Not you running off every week and risking your neck – your LIFE!" tears streamed down Lily's face and desperation. "I didn't want to risk that Kadence could've grown up without her father. So having you out of our lives seemed like the next best thing to you being dead." No longer was her words being yelled and but had softened to whispers of disappointment.

They fell into a staring match and the battle of wits had begun and Lily shook herself out of the state she had been worked up into and somehow managed to drag her gaze away from Chris' saddened eyes.

"James Storm?"

Chris' tag partner and friend of many years moved over to them and folded his arms over his chest. "Yeah?"

"Mr. Jarrett wants to see you."

Andy snorted at that comment. "Mr. Jarrett?" he whispered, very amused.

"I just got the job today, I'm not actually in a position to be as cynical about him as you boys seem to be," she explained. "James, he says you fucked up a promo or whatever and he wants to chew you out over it." All pretenses were lost with her and she was beginning to regret accepting this job that she desperately needed.

"Aw…"James groaned and walked off. "This better not be about that beer bottle again…"

"Uh, Scott, man," Andy also felt compelled to make him self scarce from this awkward situation. "Medical attention needed here."

Not really. But it was a good excuse, right? Scott reluctantly helped Andy towards the backstage area, but something told him it was a bad idea to leave these two alone. They stopped about halfway up there and turned back at the same time. Lily and Chris were just… staring at each other.

"And you wonder why I don't want you near her!" she viciously hissed with nothing less than hatred. That was it, Chris snapped and reached out, instinctively grabbing her arm when she turned to walk away.

"Wait!"

"Chris," his ex struggled against his strong grip. "Let go…"

"We need to talk."

"We've said everything that needs to be said, Chris."

He scoffed. "Thirteen years and you think we've said everything in two minutes?"

"Yep."

"Real fucking mature, Lily."

"You're one to talk, asshole! Walking out on us was real mature—"

"Lily—"

"No! I am here only because I need the job to support our child, and—"

"Then why don't you tell her?" Chris challenged, leaning against the guard barrier. "Tell her that I am her father. Or better yet, let me tell her."

"And freak her out like that?"

"From the way she looks and acts, I'd say you fucked her up enough!"

SLAP

With her free arm, she brought across her hand to meet his face which resulted in a very loud, very painful slap. Chris reeled back, letting go of her arm and his hand flew to his cheek, staring at her in disbelief. Scott let go of Andy who almost fell down but managed to steady himself, and took a couple of steps forward.

Lily breathed deeply and straightened up. "Stay away from me, Chris. Stay away from Kadence. We don't need you, we've got by without you. You were never a father to her."

"She needs her father!"

"She needs to be loved, damn it! And you never gave her..."

Chris stormed towards her and his imposing build made her stop talking, backing off a couple of steps.

"If you say it… then don't hold me responsible for what happens, Lily, you know I loved that child and you snatched her from me. I loved you and Kadence more than my life and you never gave me a chance. Don't pretend you're the innocent one here. You screwed up just as much as I did. And you know what? Fuck you. I know I screwed up, but if you can't admit that you did too… you're no better to her now then I was then." Chris glared at the mother of his child.

"I don't need to take this." Lily decided, turning and walking away from Chris. She walked straight past Raven and Andy without acknowledging them.

Chris was left to stare after her, his breathing erratic due to the anger he was feeling. Rather than have to deal with Raven or Andy accusing him of anything, Chris turned and walked the opposite way to the way Lily had gone.

"Family resemblance, much?" Andy joked. Raven nodded, not bothering to disagree with him.

After Kadence had left the ring area, she'd gone straight to her mother's office, determined to make the woman see how unhappy this job, this place, was making her. She'd slammed open the door only to find the office empty.

"Damn it!" She muttered, slumping into her mother's desk chair.

That's when she spotted her mother's handbag, sitting under the desk. Figuring she'd had enough of the bullshit inside the walls of the building she was in, she grabbed the bag and searched through it, finding her mother's wallet. She pulled a few bills from it and then dumped the bag and contents back onto the floor. After grabbing her own bag from the corner of the office, Kadence left, closing the door behind her.

She walked out of Universal Studios and made her way down the sidewalk, looking for either a taxi stand or a bus stop. Coming upon a bus stop, she read the timetable quickly and figured she had a little while to wait for the next bus to get there. She sat on the bench and pulled her bag onto her lap. Searching through it, she found her pencils and sketchbook and pulled them out before zipping the bag up and putting it between her feet.

She turned to a blank page in the sketchbook and let her pencil flow over it, putting her emotions down on paper. After awhile, the bus arrived. Kadence gathered her belongings and got onto the bus, handing over one of the stolen bills from her mother's bag and telling the driver her destination. The elderly man smiled at her as he handed her the change and her ticket and she scowled back. She couldn't understand why perfect strangers thought she'd smile just because they did.

She found a seat towards the back of the bus and put her bag on the seat beside her so she'd be left alone. Once she'd settled in, she refocused on her sketchbook and continued the drawing she'd started. Slowly, it became a rather gothic scene. A male vampire draining the last drop of mortal life from a, supposedly innocent, female. She felt as though everything related to her mother's new job – the move from Kentucky to Florida, the people she'd run into from TNA, all of it – had taken the form of the vampire and she was the female, being devoured by it all.

By the time the bus had reached her stop, Kadence had completed her artwork. There were Victorian style buildings in the background, trees on one side and the vampire and his prey were now situated in a cemetery. One of the tombstones had Kadence's name and birth date on it, followed by today's date as the date of her death. In her heart, she knew things would never go back to being what they were. She was going to be stuck in Florida until her mother screwed up and lost the job with TNA. She'd always be the outsider, the loner. She dreaded the start of the school year.

Kadence left the confines of the bus after scowling at the happy bus driver again. She figured out where she was in relation to the new house she and her mother were living in and made her way towards it. She tucked her sketchbook back into her bag and bowed her head, looking down at the cement so that she didn't draw any attention to herself. The last thing she wanted was to be harassed or laughed at. She'd had enough torture for one day.

She finally reached the house and pulled her keys from her bag before letting herself inside. After locking the door behind herself, she made her way upstairs to her room. Kadence dumped her bag on her bed and sorted through the boxes she still had left to unpack, looking for her paints or colored pencils. She really wanted to see what her sketch would look like in color. Not finding them, she tried to work out where they might be.

"The attic." She figured, knowing her mother had put a lot of the boxes up there so that the house didn't seem so cluttered.

A few seconds later, on the second level of the house she arrived at the end of the hallway and squeezed past several boxes that were shoved up against the door. Muttering curse words under her breath from having to make the effort of getting past them and to the door, Kady's sourness was expressed through kicking and shoving several boxes off others until she finally had a clear path and was standing inches from the door. It was narrower than the other doors but it didn't bother her and she yanked it open. The air was musty and it was dark – Kady let the light from the hallway illuminate just inside the stairway just enough for her to look around for the light switch, which was on the inside wall next to her.

The air was musky and damp; Kady coughed and wheezed as she entered the stairway which apparently had not been subjected to human contact for years. The walls were moldy and it wasn't exactly a picture of brightness – just the kind of place Kadence knew she could really warm up to! With a small smirk, she stepped up the stairs, closing the door behind her.

"No doubt mom would've stored my stuff up here. Always making my life hell..." she mused and stepped up into the main attic and looked around. Apart from the light streaming in through the two windows, one each on the opposite sides of the attic, it was dark. Flipping on another light switch, Kady stared around at the empty boxes that now cluttered the room. So her mother had been here. Spotting four or five boxes marked 'KADENCE', the Goth gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to scream bloody murder and tear the place apart because her mother decided to make her life even worse! As if it wasn't bad enough that she'd uprooted them and moved to Hicksville USA, where they knew no one and it was a total change from where she grew up. Kady then spotted one of the boxes on top of a pile that was labeled 'KADY – SUPPLIES'. She practically ripped it apart, tearing off the duct tape and pulling the box open. Sure enough, she didn't have to look far for her art equipment and smiled with satisfaction.

"Nice try, mother," she taunted aloud. "You got some nerve..."

After removing the items she needed, Kadence as usual, carelessly moved not thinking about what she was doing or what was around her, and ended up tripping.

"SHIT!" she screamed, dropping her paints and grabbed her leg, as pain shot through her body and dropped the floor. She rolled up the leg of her pants and groaned when she saw the blood dripping from her knee. "Great. Nice one, idiot!" Kady scolded herself and let out an exasperated sigh, and looked around. As she fell, she had knocked over several boxes and the contents of some of them had spilled out over the floor around her. Like hell I'm picking this up...

Her hand brushed over old books and magazines; photos of when she was a little girl in her pink ballerina or princess outfits that time slowly transformed her from into the proud freak she was now. Old photo frames; soft plush toys and Barbie's that Lily must have kept for sentimental value, maybe holding onto hope that someday she could once again hold her little girl in her arms. And then... Kady frowned when she came across an old book of some sorts – it was covered in dust and looked like it hadn't been open in years. She picked it up and lightly brushed away the time from its surface to read the title.

FORT WRIGHT NORTH HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF '92

"Wow..." she scoffed. "Mom you're the total definition of tacky... keeping your yearbook?"

Just for fun, Kady turned the cover which began with the introductions, and how great the school was, it's history, how it's all so unique and how the graduating class is their best yet, blah blah blah... same old bullshit. Flipping through the next few pages was completely boring – the principle's messages, teachers pictures, contents page. Your typical yearbook. Too much school spirit in her opinion – Kady would rather choke than appear in a yearbook, and would much like it if they put a blank space where her picture was supposed to be.

More school events stuff, what happened during the year and all the 'cool' events and sports stars – the Valedictorian and the Sportsman of the Year. Jocks and nerds finally pushed into the same place, but only between the covers of a book could they peacefully coincide. It didn't matter to Kadence either way and she flipped through to the school photo pages and scanned the loads of pictures until she stopped on a very familiar face and her face spread into a very rare expression – a huge smile. Though it was of a mocking nature and she burst into hysterical laughter. Lily Myers' beautifully gleaming face stared back at her from the pages; so full of life and hopes and dreams.

"Must've been before she knew about me. Great."

It was no secret that Kadence fully believed that her mother wished she had never been born and was seeking to make her life as hellacious as possible, so the kid did the only thing she could to get out from her mothers grip. She turned her own life into hell and embraced the lifestyle before she was forced into it; the ultimate act of rebellion. Finally having enough of staring at her mother's image, Kady scanned through the rest of the photos for no reason at all – maybe because she was so bored. But then... out of the corner of her eye, something snared her attention and she pulled the book to her face for closer inspection.

Is that? That dude... he looks familiar... Now provoked with curiosity and interest, for once (it was hard to get a Goth interested in anything beyond the craziness of their own internal world), Kadence sat back and forgot all about the minor injury she had sustained (though felt the urge to suck the blood out of the wound, for some reason. Gross) and studied the picture. The guy looked eerily familiar to her, but not in a good way, there was something about his face. Getting no where close to identifying him by the picture and not settling her curiosity any further, Kadence turned her attention to the name underneath it and upon registering it into her brain, wanted to hurl. Chris Harris

"Holy shit!" she gasped and dropped the book on the floor. As the book hit the floor, something else fell out of it. Now, Kadence suffered the first shock of seeing Chris Harris' photo near her mother's – so they went to the same school... the same graduating year... and her mother didn't want her to be near him during that day.

"No. Oh hell NO!"

Did they date or something? Is that what all this shit her mother was telling her was all about? Kadence was going to have some harsh words to say to her mother when she got home, to say the least. She spotted the item that fell from the book and reached to pick it up. It was face down, with some writing scrawled messily on the back of it. It was hard to read, but it was definitely her mother's handwriting. Kadence squinted and held it closer to her face and raised an eyebrow when she made out the message...

Mommy & Daddy and me at 6 months old! November 1992

Kadence groaned. You know when a mother writes something that is supposed to be from the perspective of the child? Like on the back of cards or photographs? All that embarrassing shit. But then it hit her.

"Wait... 'Mommy and daddy'?"

The wild child had never seen any picture of her father before; Lily strictly forbade any mention of the 'father' topic, which had become taboo in their household. Kady often brought it up to piss her off, and it usually worked. A weak spot that she knew how to manipulate all too well. Kadence's demeanor changed from being one of indifference to one of nervousness, something she hadn't felt for ages and the prospect of seeing her father – or at least, a fourteen year old picture of her father – was so terrifying even she couldn't resist the power of it. Shaking, Kady turned the picture over and her eyes widened at the image. No... God damn... way... Now she definitely thought she was gonna hurl. Right there in the picture, was her as a baby being held between her mother and her 'father'. Lily was smiling and appeared more happy than Kadence had ever seen her. On the other side of her, Chris Harris was smiling at the camera, too. Chris' smile in the picture wasn't as wide or goofy as Lily's or Kady's, but he was apart of them alright... he appeared happy enough, at least. Maybe a bit uncomfortable, but relaxed. Lily held Kady with both arms, balancing the infant on her hip while Chris had his muscular arms around Lily's waist and his other free hand rested on Kadence's stomach. The image was of a happy nature and the now teenage version of that child was staring at it with total shock; her hands shaking so violently that it was hard to keep focused on it.

"No... him?"

If there was ever something that could've made her hate Lily even more than she already did, this was it. Lily had her convinced that her father was probably dead and all the while he was that asshole she had called a retard earlier that day? Why hadn't her mother told her the truth?Even if she hadn't wanted to say anything while Kady was growing up, she should have said something today. Why had she even agreed to take the stupid job with TNA if she knew Kady's father was going to be there? Did she think Kady would never find out?

Kady pondered the thoughts for a moment before abandoning her art supplies. She clutched the family photo in her hand as she got to her feet and ran from the attic. Tears blurred her vision and she let out a loud sob, one that she had contained for so long. Emotions were for fools, right? Then why was crying? She hadn't cried in years... never saw the point in it. She'd forced herself to get angry rather than upset but she couldn't do it now... couldn't control the pain, both physical and emotional.

Making her way back to her room, Kady pulled a gym bag out from under her bed and hurriedly filled it with clothes before laying the photo on top of them all and zipping the bag up. She took a quick look around this room, painted it's airy yellow color and she cringed. She didn't belong here. Never would. She had to get away. She shoved her sketchbook and pencil back into her backpack, zipped it up and put it on before slinging the handles of the gym bag over her shoulder. Digging her keys from her pocket, she made her way downstairs and barged out the front door, only just bothering to lock it after her.

She made her way back to the bus stop and pulled out the remainder of the money she'd taken earlier. Figuring she'd probably end up hitching at least part of the way to her destination, she settled herself on the bench to wait for the next bus. When it pulled up at the curb, she handed over half of the money she had with her and asked how far it would take her. Satisfied with the answer, she took her ticket and made her way to the back of the bus. She dumped her gym bag at her feet and put her backpack on the seat next to her as she sat down. Pulling her sketchbook from the backpack, she flipped to a clean page and drifted off into her own world as the bus rumbled along on it's way.

Lily frantically paced around the building that housed TNA. She was looking for all possible hiding places that Kadence could have found. So far, her search had proved fruitless. Rounding a corner, she spotted Scott and made her way over to him. He saw her coming and met her halfway.

"How's Kadence?" He asked quickly, hoping that the girl was alright.

"I don't know, I can't find her. I've tried my office, empty locker rooms, I even phoned home but got no answer. She would've picked up if she was there, just to let me know how much she hated everything. God, where is she?" Lily asked desperately.

"Well, I'm not God but, I'll help you look, if you want?" Scott offered. Lily nodded and the pair set off. Scott, knowing some of the better hiding places in the building, led the way.

After around ten minutes of still not finding any sign of Kadence, Lily was almost hysterical. As much trouble as her daughter was, there was no doubt that Lily loved her. Now, she was fearing that something terrible had happened and that maybe Kadence was physically hurt, even if she hadn't been when Andy knocked into her. By this point, Scott was getting worried too. It was hard not to with Lily being so upset. Further along the hallway they were in, Chris was heading straight for them.

"Oh, great. Just what I don't need right now." Lily muttered loud enough for Scott to hear. Chris stopped and stood just in front of them, fixing his gaze on Lily. Scott once again resolved to stay out of whatever was going to happen, although he knew he'd have to step in before it got violent.

"I want to see Kady. She has a right to know who her father is, Lil." Chris stated, amazingly calm considering the altercation that had happened between them earlier.

"Absolutely not. She's fine not knowing." Lily refused. Chris looked like he was going to get worked up again but took a deep breath and let it out before speaking again.

"I'd hardly say she's fine. How could you let her out of the house looking the way she does? People probably think she's a freak or something. That's not what I wanted for her, ever." He told her seriously.

"She's not a freak! If people want to talk about her, let them. She's strong witted enough to put them in their place. She has her own personality, what's so wrong with that? Oh., wait, it's because she's not a preppy little cheerleader like I was, isn't it?" Lily challenged.

"No, it's not, at all. She can have her own personality without looking like a total reject of society. I, personally, think it's bad parenting on your part to let her get away with dressing and acting the way she does." Chris accused. Lily laughed dryly.

"Are you trying to say that I'm a bad mother?" She asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. If you'd put some rules and restrictions in place when she was younger - and then enforced them - she wouldn't be like this." Chris stated surely.

"How dare you! You have no idea what Kady and I have been through! What gives you the right to stand there and judge me for doing the best I could without you?" Lily yelled.

"I'm her father. That's what gives me the right. Now, I don't care if you want to keep acting like a bitch, I want to see Kady." Chris demanded again.

"You'll have to find her first. Thanks to you, she's taken off." Lily replied smugly.

"What do you mean, she's taken off? You truly are an incompetent mother, aren't you? You can't even keep track of her!" Chris accused again.

Lily had obviously had enough as she lunged forward and tried to hit Chris. Chris grabbed her arm and started twisting, turning her away from himself and pushing her arm up her back. He took a few steps forward, forcing Lily to do the same until she was pressed, face first, into the wall. He pushed her arm up a few times, which caused a large amount of pain to emanate from Lily's elbow and shoulder. Scott had seen enough.

"Cut it out, both of you. You're acting like you're still in high school, for heaven's sake. Let her go, Chris." He warned.

Chris released the hold on Lily and stepped back, only just avoiding Lily's fist as she swung it at him. Scott caught Lily and pulled her away from Chris so that he was standing between them. He felt somewhat like a teacher, separating squabbling teenagers

"There's a bigger issue here than your obviously mutual hate for each other. Kadence is still missing." Scott reminded them. Chris took a step back, holding his hands up to show he was done with the physical side of the argument.

Lily wanted to scream but reluctantly allowed herself to calm down and let rationality back into her system again. It was official. No other man on this entire planet was as infuriating as Chris Harris was, and her desire to kill him was exactly the same as before, when he had first walked out on her and their daughter. Their daughter. Something – someone – that would forever keep them connected and in each others lives; a memory of what they shared that would never die and it was so frustrating! Kadence was as every bit her father as she was her mother – and it frustrated them both that as long as they'd have to look at each other. Scott continued to look back and forth between them, a stern warning clear in his darkened eyes, showing the only bit of sanity and control out of all three of them.

"Now both of you get a damn grip!" he scolded. "You two can yell, scream, and tear each other apart as much as you want, but not while you have your kid missing out there. I don't got the whole 'parenting' thing down, but I think you should be worrying where the hell Kadence is rather than focusing on killing each other!"

Scott stopped talking long enough to let the words sink into them, and hoped their egos wouldn't get in the way of their child's welfare... no matter how screwed up Kady is, her mom loved her. And Chris, her father, loved her. Even though he wasn't in her life, he had always thought about her and rarely had the image of when he left her, as a baby, left his mind and often enough he'd think about how she had turned out. Now he knew. And now he regretted nothing more than when he left her – not Lily – but his daughter. Right now he didn't know what he felt about Lily, other than her parenting skills were far from what he remembered her to be. Scott sighed and relaxed, seeing that there was a chance he was getting through their enraged mental states.

"Your fourteen-year-old daughter needs you. BOTH of you. Deal with it!" he added and turned to Lily. "Should I take you to separate corners?"

"No," she replied. "Forget it. I'm going to find her. Scott, you coming?" Scott nodded and Chris started to protest.

"Excuse me? Am I included in this little plan of yours?"

Lily crossed her arms. "No."

"What?"

"You haven't been in her—"

"Don't start that shit again," Chris cut her off in a tone with obvious warning connotations but quickly changed to a softened expression. Any energy he had to fight with her was now disappearing.

"I'm her father, and I need to be there. I want to be there. Lily... for once in these God damn fourteen years stop blaming me and think of Kadence. Are you honestly going to go on forever denying my existence to her forever? Even when she's about to get married or has kids or whatever?"

Lily smirked at that suggestion and bit her lip to prevent the smile from widening and shook her head. "Are you serious? Does she look like she's gonna be the marrying kind?"

"That's not the point and you know it."

"No, I know what you're saying, Chris," she replied in a tone that now matched his, and stepped closer to him.

"But what good would it do now? Fourteen years. Think about it. Fourteen. You've missed her childhood. You missed everything. When she needed you, you weren't there, and I know a lot of that is my fault. Okay? Blame me all the hell you want. But what good would it do her now? We got this far without you... I know what's best for my daughter. And what's best for her doesn't include you." With a flash of uncertainty in her eyes, Lily blinked it away and had to turn away from him before she collapsed in tears.

Chris had no response to that and for once, with her, he was speechless... those soft words cut deeper than her screamed rambling ever could. Scott gave Lily a reassuring pat on her shoulder and stepped aside to allowed her to get by him.

"Where you going?"

"Jarrett's office. Maybe he'll take pity on me and let me off for half a day to find her," Lily replied with a hopeless shrug.

"Good luck." he chuckled.

Lily walked away and the two men watched after her, and Scott glanced at Chris and straight away felt a bit sorry for him. The man went for so long without knowing where his daughter was, and wasn't allowed to see her. If you haven't experienced it for yourself then its hard to imagine what it would be like to be denied access to someone who was very much apart of you, and through his tough exterior, Chris was feeling that hurt.

"Chris? You okay, man?"

The hurt turned into a scowl and Chris nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm good. I'll see you in a bit, Scott. Got something to take care of."

"Don't do anything stupid. I know you when you get like this, you've had a rough day—"

"I know what you said, Scott. Drop it. I'm fine." Chris didn't wait for Scott to reply and turned away, briskly walking off in the opposite direction to which Lily had walked, with a clear goal in mind. Scott heard the underlying tone in his voice, but still let him walk away, simply satisfied that the potentially explosive situation had diffused, and started back to his locker room.

Ten minutes later, Lily was again standing in front of Jarrett's desk, and he threw down his pen.

"It's your first day on the job, Ms. Myers. You sure you should be asking for time off?"

Lily clasped her hands in front of her and shifted nervously; she knew he'd be pissed off and want an explanation why this new employee of his was requesting time off. "I know, sir. I'm very sorry. It's my daughter, Kadence—"

"Ah,the one who's been causing trouble amongst my talent?"

Lily's breath caught in her chest and she wondered how the hell he could've found out so quickly; but before she could voice that very thought, Jarrett shook his head.

"Storm told me all about it, Ms. Myers. And I'm warning you. Her kind of behavior; you letting your daughter roam around the place disturbing the employees and wrestlers here, I'm telling you that I will have none of it, you understand?"

With barely a squeak of noise, she nodded and he continued.

"Good. Now I'm gonna cut you some slack, lil' lady because it's your first day. But I want to know why."

Lily brushed stray strands of hair from her face and nodded. "My daughter, she's... disappeared. Probably run off like she usually does. But, the thing is, we haven't been here long and I'm worried, and..."

"Why did she run off?"

"I... don't know," she lied. "But that's how she is when she doesn't get her way and I promise I'll only be an hour; two at tops. I'm so sorry about this, sir."

Jarrett sighed and leaned back in his chair, thinking deeply about the possibilities. He could decide to be a complete jackass and refuse to let her go without fulfilling her duties and proving to them that she was capable of this demanding, yet promising, job. Or, alternatively, he could let her leave on the assumption and promise that she'd return just as soon as she makes sure that her kid is okay. But there was still a lot of work he needed to get done.

"Here's what I'll do for ya, Ms. Myers," he said upon reaching a decision. "I'll let you go, but I need you to do one last errand for me before you do."

"Yes, sir."

Jarrett searched under a small mounted pile of papers on the desk, searching for the document he wanted and a few seconds later, he pulled it from the middle of the pile and flicked through it to make sure it was the right one. Satisfied that he got the right papers, he looked up and reached them out to Lily who took them without hesitation.

"What's this?"

"That's a plan for the show. I need you to take it to Scott D'Amore, manager for Team Canada. Storm is outside, you may have seen him, I told him to hang back and take you to D'Amore."

Lily's reluctance was so transparent it wasn't funny, and she stared between Jarrett and the script. "Why not just get Storm to do it?"

"Number one, you are my assistant. Number two, it's your job. Number three, I trust James Storm about as far as I can throw the son-of-a-drunken-bitch hick. Is there some issue you have about this? Besides," Jarrett shrugged. "It's Harris who's the trustworthy one of AMW."

Lily bit her lip, withholding a sharp quip that threatened to burst out of her when hearing that remark. Chris? Trustworthy? Yeah, about as trustworthy as a shark in bloody water. She opened her mouth to start back at Jarrett, to refute what he just said, but he held up his hand in the gesture to silence her before she could utter a syllable.

"Don't say it," he warned. "I've been hearing how you two act with each other. Now, I need you to do this for me. Storm is waiting outside, now go. Afterwards you can find your daughter. If there's anything you need, be sure to let me know," he added with a touch of kindness.

Defeated, Lily nodded and muttered a quick apology for her conduct and attitude, and hurried to the door. After opening it, sure enough James Storm was there in front of her, leaning against the wall looking none too pleased about being called on for babysitting duty for the woman who was out to kill his tag partner and friend. Lily closed the door behind her and tried to keep their eyes disconnected.

"Hi," she softly greeted, not caring for formalities right now.

"Hey, lady. What you got?"

"Script for D'Amore."

James snorted and laughed at that. "He's never read a script in his life, dumb bastard."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Do you know where he is or not? I gotta get out of here."

"Yeah, yeah, chill... you'll find her, don't worry."

"I'm her mother, of course I worry," she snapped and they walked down the hall at safe distances from each other.

"Can I ask you somethin'?" James wondered, cutting into the uncomfortable silence that had descended upon them.

"Sure." Lily replied shortly, not sure if she really wanted him to or not.

"How is it that I've known Chris for years and never knew he had a kid? I mean... what happened between the two of you that meant she couldn't be part of his life?" James asked tentatively. He didn't really want her to get upset or angry with him but he'd been wondering about it since he found out.

"He chose wrestling over Kady and I. I honestly thought that he'd take a while to think about it but he just up and left the day after I told him to make the choice. He was gone for months before he even tried calling me to ask how Kady was. His first love has always been and will always be wrestling and I didn't think that was fair on Kady. After he left, I kept waiting for him to prove that he wanted to be a father to her but... he never did." Lily replied sadly before taking a deep breath to regain a little strength.

"What does it matter now? That was just over thirteen years ago. I've dealt with being a single parent since he left so there is no way I'm going to let him swan into Kady's life and pretend he's the greatest father ever now. Especially since I know that, as soon as he's bored of playing daddy, he'll just leave again. I can't let him do that to her." Lily figured.

"Quit babbling about crap you don't know about. Chris ain't the asshole you make him out to be. Hearing the way he spoke about her earlier, I can tell that he'd never give her up if you gave him a chance to prove himself now." James defended his friend.

"Too little, too late." Lily stated firmly, not wishing to continue the discussion.

"Because you say so? That's bullshit! You need to get over yourself and let him get to know his kid. Doesn't she deserve the truth? Doesn't she deserve the best? Chris is one of the greatest guys I know but you're standing here telling me he's not good enough to be a father to his own kid when you've never given him the chance to be? No wonder she's so messed up, look at the example she has." James vented.

Lily was stunned by his outburst. Not only that but, he was the second person that day to imply that she wasn't a good mother. She was about to reply to James and tell him exactly where to go but he'd stopped in front of a door.

"Team Canada's locker room. I'm done." He told her, motioning to the door before walking off down the hall.

"Asshole." Lily muttered before taking a breath to calm herself. She reached up a hesitant hand and knocked on the door. A few moments later, the door was pulled open and a guy with dark hair pulled back into a short ponytail stood in front of her.

"What do you want?" He asked gruffly, not particularly caring who the person was.

"I have a script here for Scott D'Amore from Jeff Jarrett." Lily replied, holding the script up slightly. The guy reached to grab for it but she held it out of his grasp.

"Are you Scott D'Amore? It's my first day so I'd kind of like to be able to put names to faces and all that." She told him.

"Nah. I'm Petey Williams, captain of Team Canada." Petey answered self importantly. Lily nodded, making a mental note of his slight arrogance.

"Right. Is Mr D'Amore here, then? I really should make sure he gets this." Lily reasoned.

"Come on in." Petey decided, pulling the door open for her. Lily entered the room to see four guys other than Petey sitting or standing around. Guessing the portly looking guy in the corner looked most like a manager type, Lily made her way towards him.

"Mr D'Amore?" She asked, just to be sure. He nodded, a little curious as to who she was and what she was doing in his locker room.

"I'm Lily Myers, Jeff Jarrett's new personal assistant. He asked me to bring you this." She told him, holding out the script. D'Amore looked at it as if it were a foreign object and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Eric." He said, motioning to a guy with short blond hair. The man stood slightly, took the script from Lily quickly and then settled back into his seat.

"You can go." D'Amore dismissed Lily. She turned to leave, thinking that she'd finally get to go look for Kady now, when Petey stepped over and laughed.

"Cut her some slack, man. It's her first day. Lily, that's Eric Young that took the script from ya. Over there's Alastair Ralphs, or A1 as he likes to be known - he's our muscle. And, that lout over there is Bobby Roode, our enforcer." Petey introduced. Lily nodded to each of them and they offered a wave as Petey said their names.

"No time for niceties, Petey, we have a plan to make. Get her out of here." D'Amore ordered. Petey quickly complied, leading Lily back to the door.

"Sorry about him. He likes being in charge a little too much, sometimes." He whispered as he opened the door and let her out. Lily silently changed her opinion of Petey as she smiled and nodded politely before leaving the room. Now she could go find Kady!

* * *

**A/N2:** So... Kady knows the truth and has disappeared. Chris and Lily now have to face the unknown in order to get her back. Guess we'll have to update again soon so you know how it goes, huh? We'll get to that soon unless Lizzie decides to be mean to you all and withold the next chapter. _**Phoenix**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We'd also like to say that we do not own Sterling James Keenan. As far as we're aware, he owns himself (but, once again, we wouldn't mind owning him either, if he was agreeable). That is all. 

**A/N:** Before I say anything else, I want to say a huge thank you to my co-writer, Lizzie, for sorting our mammoth story into chapters. No matter how busy she is, she always takes the time to chat to me, share ideas and just generally give this story her all. So, Lizzie, thank you.

Now, to everyone who has reviewed so far, thank you as well. It means a lot that you're all enjoying this story as much as we're enjoying writing it. Some new characters make their appearances in this chapter. Read on and let us know what you think. **_Phoenix_**

**_

* * *

_**

While all this was going on, however, Chris was quietly making his way to Lily's office, which he found out from a staff member wasn't too far away from Jarrett's (obviously), so he would have to proceed with caution. He had encountered her for only a collective total of a few minutes for the first time in fourteen years and the woman was already infuriating him! How dare she deny him the right to see his own child. But he should've known, given the animosity between them, that Lily Myers wasn't going to make it easy for him to get to know Kadence, so Chris would just have to do it on his own. How shocked he was when he saw how his little girl turned out, and the subsequent rage he felt towards Lily for letting her turn out to be so arrogant, disrespectful, and antisocial. What kind of mother lets her child get away with that?

"Bitch," he muttered under his breath while making his way to her office which was now just around the corner.

It wasn't his intention to confront Lily again, or to go searching through her stuff, but Chris would do what was necessary to see Kadence again and let her know the truth. He stopped outside the door and hesitantly raised his fist to it, knocking and hoping that she wasn't there. When no one answered and there was no indication that anyone was in the office, Chris took the liberty and turned the doorknob and pushed forward.

The door opened with ease and he walked into the room which was dark, so he flipped the light switch on. A respectful, neat office for someone in Lily's position, and noticing the couple of bags on the floor by the desk, he knew she must've not had a chance to get settled in. Of course, that was with the exception of the contents of Lily's handbag on the floor, spilled everywhere. Kadence.. He thought with a small smile.

Chris slowly walked over to the desk and eyed the contents that sat on top. A computer, a few files, pens, a date book... nothing out of the ordinary. He then focused his attention on the three bags that were leaning against it on the floor. He walked over to them and knelt down, lightly touching one of them and thought about going through them. This could be his only chance to find Kadence and tell her the truth without Lily getting in his way again. For all that child's life, Lily had thwarted his attempts to talk to and see Kadence, but not anymore. He was sick of her bullshit and not planning to put up with it anymore – only in recent months had he cast out any hopes of seeing his daughter again, but now... now that had all changed.

Seeing the bigger picture in mind, Chris then had no qualms about rummaging through Lily's personal belongings and started going through her things – starting with the mess that Kadence had left. Using his finger tips, he spread out the contents to get a better a look at what was there and to see if there was anything that could help him. Lipstick. Compact. Address book. Tampons. A few pens. Gum. Seeing something else, Chris picked up what looked to be a photo, a small, one and turned it over.

It was Lily and Kadence, when she was about six or seven years old. He felt his chest contract sharply at the image of Kadence grinning happily, like any child should, wearing her ballet outfit and sitting in her mother's arms in what looked to be a park. Lily also looked very happy in the picture. It was hard for him to imagine that the beautiful little girl in the picture became that antisocial, disrespectful teenager he had been arguing with earlier that day.

"Fuck you, Lily." Chris whispered, hating her for keeping Kady away from him, and at the same time hating himself more for being so stupid as to actually leave. As much as he wanted to blame Lily entirely for what happened, he couldn't. He was the one to leave, not them. "I can't believe this."

He then placed the picture on the desk and didn't want to look at it anymore, it was painful for any father in that position. Resuming his search for evidence as to where they lived, Chris picked up the next bag and dumped the contents onto the pile he had gone through seconds earlier. This time, there were files and documents of some sorts. Jarrett must have given her these. The third bag had the same things as the second one. Chris stood up, muttering curse words in frustration. He returned his attention to the desk and moved around to stand behind it, in front of the computer monitor.

The three desk drawers might wield some evidence. He pulled the first one open and sighed. Nothing. The same could be said for the other two. Just as he was about to leave, he spotted something under the desk - Lily's wallet. Chris smiled and picked it up. Inside, there were some ATM receipts, a couple of pictures of Kadence as a baby... and Lily's driver's license. He studied the driver's license for a few seconds before he picked up a pen and a note pad that was sitting on the desk and quickly scribbled out the address. If Lily wouldn't bring Kadence to him, then he would just go to her.

Thirty seconds later he stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him with a satisfied smile on his face. He was in a rush so he didn't bother to fix the mess he had made, but that wasn't of concern to him right now.

"Harris!"

He looked over his shoulder and saw Andy standing with his tag partner, Chase Stevens, down the hall and he rolled his eyes. Off camera they all pretty much got along okay, but these guys could still be damn annoying sometimes. Before he could even turn to move in the other direction, Andy and Chase had already started to him. When they got there, Andy eyed the nameplate on the door of the office Chris had just come out of. Lily Myers.

"Uh... you okay, Chris?" he asked tentatively, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah, why?"

"Just wanting to know why you're coming out of Lily's office, that's all."

Chase, somewhat confused as he was left in the dark, frowned. "Who the hell is Lily?"

His partner started to reply, but Chris punched his arm in a symbolic gesture telling him to keep his damn mouth shut unless he wanted to get his ass thrown through the wall. Still feeling the affects of the America's Most Wanted member shoving him around in the ring not too long earlier, Andy backed off.

"What?" Chase pressed. "Man, I swear Jarrett's gonna go nuts if you start messing with his assistants again," he stated, remembering the time that Chris got into an altercation with Jarrett's former assistant, which led to the guy's resignation. It was quite an amusing moment, actually.

"Guys, it's nothing," Chris insisted, impatiently. "I gotta go..." he hurried off before his colleagues could get another word in otherwise and Chase shook his head.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on?" he demanded. "Is there some running joke I should know about?"

"No joke, man. Trust me, it's gonna hit the roof soon." Andy replied and walked to Lily's office door and opened it, peering inside. The mess on the floor and on the desk made it easy for him to assume that it had something to do with that kid and Lily.

Just then, Lily came around the corner and stopped, staring at Andy and the other guy looking in her office. She walked up behind them quietly and cleared her throat.

"Something I can help you with?" She asked, slightly amused at having made Andy and his friend jump almost out of their skins.

"Uh... Lily. Hi. Um... no, no there's nothing. Come on, Chase, let's go." Andy stammered before trying to pull Chase away.

"Wait, you're Lily?" Chase asked politely.

"Yes, I am." Lily replied. Chase held his hand out to her and she shook it tentatively.

"I'm Chase Stevens – Andy's tag partner. You're Jarrett's new assistant, right?" Chase introduced himself.

"Indeed, I am. If you'll excuse me, I have something urgent that I need to take care of." Lily excused herself before pushing past Chase and opening the door to her office. She took one look at the mess and walked back out. Andy and Chase hadn't gotten very far.

"Andy... what the hell is this?" Lily called to him, pointing back into the office.

"Um... it... well, the thing is..." Andy stammered, not sure what to tell her.

"It was Chris Harris." Chase supplied the answer for him, only to have Andy hit him in the arm.

"Ow! Dude, not cool." Chase muttered, glaring at his tag partner. He totally missed the look on Lily's face but Andy didn't.

"I'll help clean it up. Catch you later, Chase." Andy dismissed his friend before following Lily back into the office. Once the door was shut, Lily turned on him.

"Tell me what you know and tell me now." She demanded.

"All I know is that he came out of here earlier. When I asked him what he was doing, he said it was nothing and then said he had to go." Andy told her honestly. Lily looked around at the mess and pulled a hand across the top of her head.

"I really don't need this shit right now. Kady's still missing and I need to go home and see if she's there." Lily mused.

"Well, my mother used to say that many hands make light work. The sooner we start, the sooner you can get out of here." Andy figured. Lily nodded and walked around her desk to survey the mess from another angle.

"Oh, no. No, no, no." She muttered, having spied her wallet sitting open on the desk. She picked it up and noticed the photo of her and Kady sitting below it. Chris had, no doubt, been in here looking for their address. He'd obviously found it on her license.

"I have to go, now. Leave the mess." Lily ordered before ushering Andy out of the room and running out to her car in the parking lot.

Chris had slipped out of Universal Studios unnoticed. He'd quickly gotten his rental car going and had headed for the address on the piece of notepad paper in his hand. He now stood, staring up at the house. It wasn't anything particularly flashy but he had to admit that it looked like a nice place. He walked up the path slowly and stood in front of the front door, wondering what he should say to Kady if she answered the door to find him there.

Finally deciding to play it by ear, he reached out and knocked. He waited a little while, hoping to hear her yell out from inside, but there was nothing. He knocked and waited again before giving up and sitting down on the stoop. She either wasn't here or didn't want to answer. Raking his hands through his hair, Chris wondered what his next move should be. He had no idea where Kady would be, other than here.

It was at this point that Lily pulled her car into the driveway. She sat in the car, staring at the man sitting on her doorstep. She prayed that he hadn't said anything to Kady. For all she knew, he was sitting there after having Kady slam the door in his face. She got out of her car and walked slowly towards Chris.

"You went through my stuff. Very mature of you, Chris." She spoke up. He lifted his head slightly and glared at her.

"Kady beat me to it. I don't think she's here, Lil." He told her, the concern in his voice shocking Lily a little. He seemed genuinely worried. Remembering James' words from earlier, Lily motioned for Chris to move so she could get past him.

"She's probably upstairs with her headphones on." She figured, unlocking the door and stepping inside. She held the door open for a moment before sighing.

"You can come in - just so long as you don't go telling Kady the truth. Not yet. Give me time to talk to her about it." Lily offered. It was Chris' turn to be shocked. Was this the same person he'd been arguing with earlier?

"Thanks. I guess it was stupid of me to come running over here to dump the truth on her but... she needs to know, Lil. I need her to know." He replied as he stepped into the house.

"I'll be right back." Lily told him before she headed up the stairs to Kady's room. The door was open, the room empty. Lily searched through Kady's closet and drawers quickly, realizing the girl had taken a lot of her clothes with her.

"She's gone... run off." Lily explained to Chris as she came back down the stairs.

"What? Where would she go?" Chris asked seriously, pulling his car keys from his pocket.

"I... I don't know. She doesn't know this place at all. We only just moved here." Lily replied, being cut off by her cellphone ringing in her pocket. She pulled it out and quickly answered the call.

"Lily speaking."

"I hate you, you fucking bitch! You're a piece of shit, you know that!" Kadence's voice yelled. She was clearly crying.

"Kady, baby, where are you?" Lily asked, her motherly concern on high alert.

"Like you fucking care! Why didn't you tell me he was my father? Why did you let me believe for so fucking long that my father didn't care? How could you do that to me?" Kady screamed into the phone.

"It was wrong of me, I know. Please, just come home and we'll work it out, okay?" Lily pleaded, trying to stay calm.

"Fuck you! Florida isn't my home and it never will be." Kady replied defiantly. Chris watched Lily's expression cloud even more than it had when she'd first realized it was Kady calling her. He reached out and took the phone from her, swatting her hand away when she tried to get it back.

"Kady, get your punk ass back to this house right now." He spoke quickly and gruffly into the phone.

"Who... who is this?" Kady asked uncertainly, the shock of a male voice over the phone snapping her out of her hysterics.

"Who the hell do you think it is?" Chris shot back.

"Chris?" Kady whispered.

"Give the girl a medal." Chris replied wryly. Kadence came out of her stupor and remembered what was happening.

"Well, now you have a valid reason not to give a damn about me. I'm not there, just like you weren't all those times I needed you." Kady spat before ending the call. Chris looked at the phone in shock before handing it back into Lily's outstretched hand.

"Angry little thing, ain't she?" He mused.

"My fault, like everything else, I suppose. Did she say anything about where she was?" Lily asked quickly.

"Nope, not a thing. I could kind of hear a bus or something in the background, though." He told her.

"A bus? Oh, god... she said Florida wasn't her home and never would be... she's gone back to Kentucky!" Lily guessed. Chris resisted the temptation to show his smugness at Lily's relenting to the fact that she has royally screwed up with Kadence, but right now wasn't the time he knew so if it was necessary, and it looked like it was, he was gonna have to make a pact with this devil. At least until they had Kady back here where she was safe.

"Jesus..." Chris shook his head.

He had never done this before, so he had no clue as to what to do and by the expression on Lily's face, he knew she was just as torn up and confused as he was. The years of dealing with a troublesome child and her never ending anti-social behavior. And you know what? For a microsecond, there, he almost felt sorry for her, but easily shook himself from that and came back to reality. This day had started off so normally, and now all of this was going down... it was overwhelming, even for him.

"So now what?" he broke the silence, and he managed to work through his anger and total hatred of this woman whom he never wanted to see again, who was standing across from him, and Kadence's safety was the only thing he could concern himself with now. Lily looked totally lost, and appeared to have gave up arguing with him.

"I... I... I don't know, Chris. I don't know. I'm a horrible fucking mother! Is that what you want me to say? So you can quit giving me that goddamn look! You happy now? I've admitted it. You win, you sonofabitch." she cried and fell against the wall, her arms flailed hopelessly at her side.

For an instant there, Chris felt that urge to hold her again, but that only last a microsecond and he rolled his eyes with disgust. If she had been a more responsible with Kady, this wouldn't be happening. But then again, if she had been responsible, that would probably have meant that this very tumultuous day would not have come to pass. Chris looked around the house – it was moderately sized, appropriate for a single mother with a teenage daughter. Boxes littered the hallway and most of their belongings were unpacked as of yet. And already Kady had rejected it.

"Look, forget it Lil." Chris controlled his temper for the sake of rationality. "Who knows what the hell she's gonna do... I have no bright ideas for what we're gonna do..."

"We?" Lily responded, incredulously. "Excuse me, there is no we in this—"

"What the--? As I recall, we are her parents. Like it or not, I'm in this too. Get over yourself and start thinking about our kid, here."

"I am!"

"She fucking knows, Lil!" he retorted and crossed his arms. "How she does, I have no idea considering this morning she had no clue who I was. Another wonderful indication of your parental abilities..."

"Oh don't you dare!" Lily fumed and stormed up to him, not afraid of his imposing frame or dangerous glare.

Tearfully, she forced herself to look at him, the man who had walked away from her and Kady thirteen years ago, and the contempt he had for her now... it was hard to believe that this was the same guy who she had loved with her life once upon a time. And what was even more infuriating? That he was now more than likely gonna force his way back into their lives, and they'd have to coexist for Kady's sake. Lily was willing to do anything for her daughter, but this was asking a lot. He genuinely looked and sounded like he wanted to help and be there, but it was a lot more than that.

"You're the one who told me to let it go just a few seconds ago. I will, if you will." It sounded more like a dare, a challenge, than a request – Lily figured it was probably the only way to get his cooperation right now. Chris huffed and briskly pushed past her and over to the front door. After opening it, he stopped just in the doorway and gave a quick glance over his shoulder, not wanting to meet her darkened, tear-filled eyes. Just the way she looked when he had last seen her all those years ago, and the guilt had still yet to dissipate.

"You coming?"

"What?"

"Lily!"

She hurried past him before he slammed the door behind her and stepped onto the front step. Already she was halfway to the car, obviously not waiting for him nor caring much if he did decide to get in or not.

Kady had almost worn herself out with sobs after talking to both of her parents. Wow, how weird. They were both in the same place. She briefly wondered if they were at each other's throats or if their breakup had been a friendly one. For all she knew, they were playing catch up over a nice hot cup of coffee.

She'd hoped on a bus straight after hanging up on Chris and now she was... hopefully, miles away from Orlando, Florida. She hated everything about that place. The fake people, the sunshine. It was all too much. She longed to be back in Kentucky with her friends. Thinking about it, Kady almost managed to smiled. She pulled her cellphone out and searched it's directory for a particular number. Once she'd found it, she pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear, wanting to hear the familiar voice of her best friend.

"Danny here. Talk if you must." Danny Hertz answered the call with his usual antisocial greeting.

"Hey, freak. You sound like you miss me." Kady spoke quietly, still not completely over the sobs from earlier.

"Kady? Of course I miss you. Freakdom is not the same without you here." Danny told her seriously.

"Well, I'll remedy that, shall I? Guess where I am." Kady replied, knowing he'd actually take the time to try and guess.

That was one of the things she liked about him. No matter what else was happening around him, he'd take the time out to give her his full attention. It had been that way since their first day of kindergarten when he'd knocked over a bigger kid that was hassling her. He was the closest thing she had to a brother and, right now, she considered him to be more family than her own parents.

"Hmm. It's noisy... I'm guessing a bus. Knowing you, you're on your way back here." Danny accurately guessed.

"You know me too well. Can I stay with you?" Kady wondered, knowing she had nowhere else to stay if he said no.

"Yes, as always. I'll hide you in the attic." Danny joked, reminding her of the time she'd run away at 12, only to end up hiding in his attic for two days before Lily had come to take her home.

"Attic's been done before. Let's go for the basement this time, okay?" Kady laughed slightly.

"Deal. Let me know when you're almost at the bus terminal and I'll be there to meet you." Danny assured her.

"Thanks, Dan. You have no idea how much I appreciate this. The whole state of Florida should be deemed an insane asylum and everyone in the state right now ought to be locked up." Kady told him.

"I'm sure there's more to this story and I look forward to hearing about it without the bus noise in the background.I have to go scrounge up some food. Talk to you soon, yeah?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. Save me some pizza." Kady teased, knowing that that's about all Danny chose to eat these days.

"Will do. See ya soon, Kady." Danny farewelled before ending the call. He really must've been hungry.

Now that she thought about it, she was starting to feel hungry herself. She silently berated herself for not grabbing anything to eat on the way out of the house. Her stomach grumbled so loud it almost drowned out the sound of the bus. The kindly bus driver looked back at her in the mirror and smiled.

"There's an old diner up ahead. I usually pull in for a coffee. Any complaints?" He called, loud enough for Kady and the other passengers to hear.

No one seemed to care about the stop, so the driver pulled up outside a rundown diner in the middle of nowhere. Kady got off the bus carrying both her bags and headed inside, making a detour to the bathroom before she ordered anything to eat. When she emerged from the bathroom, she headed straight for the counter. The place was almost empty so she didn't have to wait to be served.

"Oh, dear. You're meant to be on that bus, aren't you?" The waitress asked, pointing out the window. Kady turned and looked, only to see the back end of the bus fading into the horizon.

"Oh, great. This day couldn't possibly get any worse. Can I get a menu, please?" Kadence asked, figuring she may as well eat now. There was no way she'd catch up to the bus, unless she could turn into Roadrunner. The waitress handed the strange girl a menu before turning to tend to another customer that looked, to Kady, to be a regular.

After ordering and receiving her meal, Kady dug into it hungrily. She was quietly contemplating what she should do next and decided that hitching a ride was her only option now. That or call her mother and admit defeat, which wouldn't be happening any time soon. She turned her attention to the road the bus had gone down, guessing that that was the way to Kentucky. There was barely any traffic out here, only a few beat up old cars that probably wouldn't be going far. Every now and then, a newer model car would go past but it didn't happen with much regularity.

Once she was finished her meal, Kady paid up and hefted her bags onto her shoulders and then walked out to the road. She dropped the gym bag at her feet and placed the backpack next to it before looking back up the road the way the bus had come. Nothing for miles. Groaning, Kady sat down on top of her gym bag and pulled her sketchbook from her backpack. On the back of one of the pages she wrote 'Need a ride to Kentucky'. She then flipped the book so that anyone passing would be able to read the note while she sat there sketching to pass the time.

After around an hour, a car pulled up at the curb near her. Kady lifted her head and surveyed the vehicle. Not too shabby. Next, she turned her attention to the driver. A guy in his early 20's was leaning over to speak to her out the passenger window. He had long black hair pulled back in a ponytail and Kady could see a lot of tattoo's covering his arms. He was wearing a black t-shirt with the letters IWC on it. Deciding he looked slightly creepy, Kady got up and walked over slowly, making sure she stopped far enough away from the car that she'd be safe.

"I'm not going all the way to Kentucky but I can get you a little closer to it." The guy offered. Kady still wasn't sure about the look of him.

"Uh... I'll pass, thanks." She replied, turning to walk back to her bags.

"Hey, kid!" The guy called out. Kady turned back and indicated that she was listening.

"I'm sure you've heard the old saying 'never judge a book by it's cover'. I'm not as scary as I look." He told her. Kady almost laughed.

"Whatever. I've learned to trust my instincts and they're telling me not to get in your car. Sorry." She shrugged. The guy laughed slightly, amazed that this young girl would refuse a safe ride with him, just because of the way he looked. Considering she didn't look all sweetness and light either, it was quite ironic. He was about to say something else when a junk heap of a car pulled up just behind him. The girl walked away from his car.

The driver of the second car tooted the horn and Kady walked over to see if this guy looked any better than the first one. He seemed to be more clean cut. He was wearing a pale blue button down shirt and his hair was short and styled nicely. She crouched slightly to talk to the guy through the passenger window, just as she had at the first car.

"Where you headed, sweetie?" The guy asked, his accent more familiar to her than the harsh Floridian accent she'd had to put up with since leaving Kentucky.

"Kentucky, or as close to it as possible." Kady told him. The guy nodded.

"I'm headed there, myself. Grab your stuff." He offered.

Kady smiled and ran back to her bags, stuffing her sketchbook into her backpack before lifting both bags from the ground. As she was headed back towards the car, the guy from the first car called out to her again.

"Hey, kid. Be safe, okay?" He called to her.

Kady thought it was an odd thing for him to say but waved halfheartedly before throwing her bags into the backseat of the second car. She climbed into the front passenger seat and closed the door before the driver peeled away from the curb, going around the first car that had stopped. Kady settled into the seat and watched the scenery out the window, happy to be lost in her own mind. The scenery quickly turned repetitive and boring; just a long highway with nothing interesting surrounding it. Kady yawned and blinked in rapid succession in vain attempts to not fall asleep. What did that dude mean? Be safe? Well, whatever it was, she really did not giving a damn anymore and settled back into her seat. The man looked at her and raised an eyebrow in her direction at the totally gothic, reclusive-looking girl who didn't look to be more than fifteen years old. He returned to focusing on the road ahead of them.

"So how old are you, kid?" he asked casually, and what seemed to be concern. Kady shrugged, nonchalantly.

"Fourteen," she replied and stifled another yawn.

"What you doing hitch hiking, anyway? Aren't you a little young?"

Again, Kady shrugged and kept gazing out the window. "Does it matter? Some shit went down and I just wanna get home."

"Ah,I see."

The conversation kinda died right there as he could tell she didn't wanna talk much, and let it go. Every so often he'd cast a glance in her direction to see that she had not moved an inch, and her body language suggested that whatever had happened with her, she didn't want anyone to know about it. Five minutes passed since their last communication, twenty minutes after he had picked her up.

"I'm Mark, by the way."

Kady remained silent, seemingly lost in her own world. So he tried again.

"What's your name?"

She rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempts to break the silence, but decided it wasn't worth the effort to risk him kicking her out in the middle of nowhere, stranding her. She pushed a few stray bits of hair from her face and cleared her throat.

"Kady."

"Nice to meet you, Kady. I assume your parents don't know about any of this?"

"Mind your own business," she snapped before she could catch herself. The venom with which she spoke caught Mark off guard and Kady quickly changed her demeanor. "Sorry," she added. "It's been a long day. I just don't wanna talk about it."

"I forgive," he chuckled and smiled in her direction. It was a comforting smile and Kady relaxed a little. "I understand. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Might help if you talk about it though..."

"Do I look like the 'talkative' type?" Kady responded.

"Okay, okay, I give up!" Mark laughed and checked his rear view mirror.

The only other car on the road was a fair distance behind them, otherwise the highway was pretty much deserted. The long stretch of road showed no signs of relenting, giving them both a clear indication that there was still a fair way to go and Kady still had no idea of where exactly she was. Not that it mattered much anyway, and she closed her eyes and imagined about arriving at Danny's house and just chilling out with him and telling him everything about what happened. He would be as shocked as she was to find out that she now knows who her father is. No doubt they'd be bitching about Lily and Chris for a while before falling into the usual bored, effortless place of doing nothing. And pizza. Kadence was starving to have her favorite food and just hang out with her best, and pretty much only friend.

Kady didn't resist as she felt her eyes drooping and her muscles relaxed even further. Mark watched her fall into what looked to be a light sleep, maybe dozing, and studied this – child – a bit more carefully. All he could see was not only she deeply troubled, but from what it sounded like it was pretty serious as well. Despite all the make-up and very depressing attitude and the creepy clothes, Kady is a very pretty girl... Who knows how much time had passed when Kady let out a small groan and shifted, barely awake, in her seat. She opened her eyes and let them refocus for a few seconds before she realized that it was dark – it had fallen into night now. But the strange thing was... she didn't feel the car moving.

She rubbed her eyes and willed herself to stay awake when she now felt something tugging at the bottom of her shirt, at her hip and then it hit her. Her heart beat started growing more rapid and intense and looked around her. The car was, in fact, not moving and looked to be parked on a dark, narrow gravel road that was definitely not the highway. Actually, there was no sense of civilization or human touch around them; it was all nature – trees, bushes... no road! Only a matter of seconds had passed since waking up and the panic was setting in and Kady turned to find out what was going on, and Mark's eyes caught hers and he was smiling at her. This wasn't like how he was smiling earlier, now it was creepy – a smirk – as if he knew something she didn't.

"What... what the fuck? Where are we?" she breathed, raggedly, and looked around with her eyes darting around, wanting to find something that would suggest they were near other people. But there was nothing. "Did we break down or something?"

Mark shrugged and shook his head. "No," he replied softly and unbuckled his seatbelt. "I just needed a rest, you know? Been driving for the past two hours, you know? I need a break."

Kady looked between him and where his hand now sat, on the hand break between them, apparently inching closer to her and she tensed up. What the hell was going on here? Mark didn't look tired and he had something on his mind, she could tell. Kady wasn't stupid, and it clicked almost right away what was going on. Deciding to play it safe and not do anything that could agitate him and get her chopped up into little bits and left to rot in the forest, she exhaled and played it cool... as best she could.

"Fair enough," she muttered. "Look, um... I really need to be getting home, so I'd appreciate it"  
"What's the rush?" Mark interrupted, the ego oozing out of him now. He slid his hand onto Kady's thigh and started massaging it and moved closer to her, and leaned closer. She shoved his hand away.  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled and undid her seatbelt. The creepy smile didn't diminish from his face and Mark, moving quicker than her hand could reach the door handle, flipped a button that central locked the car. "Let me go you sick asshole!" "Wow, you're feisty," he commented.

Kadence tried her best to fight him off but gave up a lot in sheer size, weight and strength. There was no way she'd be able to stop him if he decided to go further. She leaned as far away from him as possible and reached one of her hands into her pocket to grab her cellphone. As she got it in her hand in front of her, she quickly found her mother's cellphone number in the directory. Just as she'd pushed the Call button, Mark tore the phone from her hand and tossed it out his, now open, window.

"Hey! Let me go, you asshole! Let go of me!" Kady screamed as Mark pulled her towards himself.

Just then, a hand reached in through the open window and wrapped around Mark's throat. Another hand reached in and unlocked the doors, allowing Kady freedom and also allowing the person to open the door and pull Mark from the car. Kady got out of the car as quickly as she could and stood, glued to the spot, watching the heavily tattooed guy from earlier beating Mark mercilessly.

"Don't you ever, EVER, touch a child that way again you sick fuck!" The guy was yelling at Mark as he hit him.

Feeling her confidence return now that she was sure Mark wasn't going to have his way, Kady moved around to the driver's side of the car to try and break up the fight. All she wanted was to get out of there, to get home to Kentucky. This tattooed guy may have seemed strange to her at first, but now she knew he meant no harm to her.

"Stop, please, stop!" She told him, trying to get his attention away from beating Mark senseless. He didn't seem to notice. Kady took a deep breath and quickly stepped into the fray, hoping to get his attention before he accidentally hit her instead of Mark.

"Please, stop. I just want to get out of here... please?" She pleaded. The guy stopped, his arm raised, fist clenched. It took him a moment to register what she'd said but, once he had, he let Mark go, shoving him to the ground violently.

"Get your gear." He told her, attempting to calm himself down.

As Kady ran back to Mark's car, the guy looked down at Mark and felt the bile rise in his throat again. He didn't want to think about what may have happened to the girl if he hadn't followed the creep's car when it turned off the highway. Feeling the anger rising once again, the guy kicked out at Mark, connecting solidly with his midsection.

As Kady came back over, Mark reached up from the ground and grabbed her leg, attempting to either pull himself up or pull her down. Kady let rip with a bloodcurdling scream. This caught the attention of her savior and he once again kicked out at Mark, this time harder. The kick connected with Mark's ribs, resulting in a satisfying cracking sound. Mark released his grip on Kady and clutched at his ribs. Kady took the offered hand from the tattooed guy and let him lead her to his car.

As the pair walked away, Mark pushed himself to his feet and stumbled back towards his car. Noticing Kady's cellphone on the ground just beside the car, Mark growled before stomping on it and smashing it to bits. On the other end, Lily screamed as the line went dead. Chris, who had just come back around the corner after they had split up upon entering the bus terminal to look for Kadence, gave her a strange look and approached her again. A dozen or so other people around them stopped momentarily to see what the problem was, Lily fell back against the wall and almost dropped her cell phone. Instinctively, Chris reached out and touched her shoulder just in case she needed extra help to regain her balance, and right away she pushed him away. He looked between her and the phone – Lily's face was streaming with tears and her breathing had turned to hyperventilation.

"Lil? Lily? What the—" seeing her trembling and no longer able to stand he ignored her weak attempts to push him away and he led her over to a seat about three or four feet away. She sat down. "Lily what's up? Was that Kady? LILY!"

She jumped when he raised his voice and looked up. "I... I..."

Chris knelt down in front of her – he would shake the information out of her if he had to, neither of them had time for this. They had to find Kadence before she could get herself into anymore trouble. If only they knew...

"Snap out of it, woman!" he firmly shook her but not hard enough to hurt her. Lily whimpered and inadvertently gripped his arm for support. This was about as friendly as the contact between them would probably get.

"It was Kady, but it wasn't!" she told him quickly, flustered.

"What?" again, he had to resist the temptation to slap her upside the head and force her to tell him what was going on. "Lily, I swear to God if you don't tell me what you're rambling about I'm going to—"

"Something happened, there was screaming and shouting and her phone went dead; fuck Chris something happened! She was screaming, I could hear it! Chris, she could be hurt, I—"

It was at that point that Chris let her go and his arms dropped by his sides in shock – did he hear her right? Someone was attacking his girl? Lily calmed down just enough to see what his reaction was, and to her surprise it was calm. But inside he was fuming; Chris' mind was running so fast that his body had barely begun to react to that news, the worst news that a father could hear... especially when he is a father who was never actually in his daughter's life and was never in a position to protect her. Everyone else around them resumed what they were doing, leaving Chris and Lily alone to absorb what just happened. Now, being a wrestler, you'd expect him to go off on a psychotic rampage about how he was gonna kill the fucker who dared to touch a hair on his child's head, but Chris... he didn't. Instead, he looked to the ground and took a deep breath, which of course left Lily in confusion. Why was he acting so calm when she just told him their Kady could be hurting, or that some creep was doing something to her? Even though the kid could be a real pain in the ass at times... there's nothing that Lily wouldn't do for her. She could only hope that Chris would be man enough to do the same thing.

"Chris?"

He looked up and to Lily's complete shock again, what she saw was not what she expected from the man she was now struggling to hate. Not that she had forgiven him or anything like that, but it was more like they had put their differences on hold for Kady's sake. But he looked... guilty. Chris burned with emotion and fought to keep it inside, there was no way he would lose his cool now, though it was pretty hard not to.

"Chris?"

He blinked away any tears that could've been visible and shook his head. "God damn it, Kady." he whispered. "Fuck..."

"Chris, please!" Lily pleaded for his attention, though wasn't succeeding. "We have to find her! You gotta help me get my little girl back—" she stopped when he cast a deadly glare in her direction, and cleared her throat. "Our girl back," she corrected herself.

He then stood up, and without a word he turned around and briskly walked off, leaving his ex wondering what the hell he was doing.

"HARRIS!"

"Let's go..." he called back.

* * *

**A/N2:** For all those interested in finding out more about **Sterling James Keenan**, say so in your review and I'll send you the link to his website since it won't let me post it here. This guy is going to be something big! Leave us a review and let us know what you think. Constructive criticism is accepted. Thank you! **_Phoenix_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. That is all.

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone for the reviews we've recieved so far. This story is well and truly writing itself so it's great to see that other people are enjoying it as much as Lizzie and I do. Lizzie is currently lurking in some shadows somewhere so... be afraid, be very afraid. Anyways, here's chapter 4. In this chapter, we learn exactly who Kady's savior is. Read on... **_Phoenix_**

**_

* * *

_**Kady sat next to the tattooed man quietly. She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid. She'd let her old fears cloud her mind and had taken a ride with a psycho instead of putting a little faith in the guy with the tattoos. Sure, he looked scary enough but... he'd saved her. She bit her tongue to stop a sob escaping as she stared out the window. The tattooed guy looked over and noted the pained expression on her face. 

"Relax, kid. I wouldn't have taken a ride with me either. That guy did look a lot safer. Guess this is just a reminder that appearances can be deceiving." He shrugged. Kady sighed.

"I'm sorry. And thanks for... that." She whispered, barely audible. The guy nodded, his attention having returned to the highway.

"Got a name? Or should I keep calling you kid?" He wondered after a few minutes of silence.

"Kadence Myers." Kady told him quickly, not yet having turned her attention away from the window.

"Kadence, huh? Poor you." He smiled. She turned her attention to him, finally, and caught the humor in it.

"I prefer to be called Kady." She offered honestly. The guy nodded and left it at that. Kady waited for him to tell her his name but figured he'd never get around to it.

"So... have you got a name? Or should I just call you creepy tattooed guy?" She asked eventually.

"Creepy tattooed guy works." He shrugged. Kady laughed slightly.

"Sterling James Keenan." He told her once the silence started to wrap around them again.

"And you thought Kadence was bad? What kind of a name is Sterling?" Kady pointed out. Sterling shot her a quick glare before returning his attention back to the road.

"I'm a wrestler. It's my stage name." He told her, the shortness in his words reminding her of the anger he'd shown towards the other man.

"A wrestler? Damn it, I can't get a break today!" Kady fumed.

"What do you mean by that?" Sterling wondered, his confusion cutting off any anger.

"My mother just got a job with TNA as Jeff Jarrett's personal assistant. I just found out that my father wrestles there. My mother never told me about him. Basically, everything is fucked up and I can't get away from wrestlers." Kady sighed, cutting her rant short.

"Your father's a wrestler with TNA? I know a couple of guys that work there. Think it would be anyone I know?" Sterling questioned.

"Probably not. The only guy anywhere near as creepy as you is the vampire lover, Andy Douglas." Kadence shrugged.

"He's not creepy. And, try me. I may not know the guy personally but I'm sure I know of him." Sterling pushed. Kady shut down slightly.

"I don't want to talk about it. I just want to get to Kentucky and forget any of this shit ever happened." She told him seriously. He figured he'd pushed too much so he backed off, before thinking about something else.

"You ran away, huh? No one knows you're gone?" He asked quietly.

"They know I'm gone. They just don't know where I'm going." Kady answered. Sterling shook his head slightly, wondering how crazy this kid's mother must be going, not knowing where she is or if she's safe.

"Call someone. Let them know you're okay." He stated, not leaving room for argument. Kady reached for her pocket before remembering the fate of her cellphone.

"Can't. The psycho threw my phone out the car window and I forgot to pick it up again." She shrugged, silently thanking the jerk for giving her a reason not to call anyone. Sterling looked her in the eye for a moment and noted that she was sincere. He motioned to something on the center console, just behind the handbrake.

"Use mine. I'm sure you have at least one number memorized that you can use." He figured. Kady reluctantly picked up the cellphone and held it in front of her, wondering if she should call Danny or her mother.

"Call someone that can let your mother know you're okay if you don't want to talk to her directly." Sterling said firmly, not wanting Kady to muck around.

"I don't know anyone's number... only my mother and my best friend, Danny. Dan doesn't know mom's number either." Kady told him with another shrug, figuring he wouldn't make her call anyone in that case. The glare returned to Sterling's eyes. He couldn't tell if she was being deliberately difficult.

"Give me that." He told her, holding his hand out for the phone. Kady dropped it into his hand and watched him press a few buttons while still keeping an eye on the road. He'd slowed down slightly so that he could remain in control of the car while he was using the phone. He raised it to his ear and waited a few moments before speaking.

"Aries, it's SJK. I need you to do me a favor. There's a chick working for Jarrett as his assistant by the name of... kid, what's her name?" Sterling paused, fixing the glare on her again momentarily.

"Lily Myers." Kadence answered quickly, not wanting to see what this guy would do to her if she didn't.

"Lily Myers. Find her and tell her that her kid, Kady, is safe and on her way to Kentucky, okay?" Sterling paused, clearly listening to the reply.

"Fucked if I know where she is, man. You're there, ask Jarrett or something. Give Lily my number, if she wants it, because Kady lost her cellphone. Gotta go, I'm on the road." Sterling ended the call quickly, not bothering to wait for his friend to say anything else.

"Did you meet Austin Aries while you were at TNA?" Sterling asked as he tossed his phone back to where Kady had picked it up from.

"No. Probably a good thing if he's a friend of yours." She figured. Sterling managed a slight laugh, despite the tension that still hung in the air.

"Austin's not a bad guy. Nowhere near as creepy as me. Closer to Andy on the creep scale." He joked back.

Lily and Chris were standing in line at the airport, waiting to be able to buy tickets to Kentucky. Lily was almost 100 percent sure that that's where Kady was heading, even if Kady hadn't told them herself. Lily was fidgeting, wanting nothing more than to have Kady in her arms, just so she would know her little girl was safe. Beside her, Chris was looking rather stony. Lily could tell he was having a hard time dealing with everything that had happened since he'd arrived at work that day. He'd been very quiet on the drive from the bus terminal to the airport but Lily was sure he'd broken all the speed laws on the way.

"Come on. What's taking so fucking long?" Chris muttered, feeling the urge to beat everyone in front of him unconscious, just so he'd be at the front of the line. Lily was about to agree with him when her cellphone rang. Hoping it was Kady, she answered it quickly, without checking the call ID.

"Kady?" She asked hopefully.

"Uh... no. Ms Myers, my name's Austin Aries. I have a message to pass onto you from a friend of mine." Austin told her hesitantly. He had no idea what the heck was going on and really didn't want to be stuck in the middle of anything.

"How did you get my number?" Lily asked quickly, wanting to end the call, just in case Kady was trying to call.

"I asked Jeff Jarrett for it and, believe me, it took me long enough to get it from him." Austin replied. Lily sighed, figuring if he'd gone to Jarrett, this was probably a work related call.

"So, what's the message then, and who is your friend that it's from?" She asked.

"My friend's name is Sterling James Keenan. He called me not too long ago and asked me to tell you that your daughter, Kady, is with him and that she's okay. They're heading to Kentucky, which is weird because I was sure Sterling had a booking in a completely different state." Austin mused.

"Kady's with him? Are you sure?" Lily asked, wanting to hear it again.

"Yeah, that's what he said. Oh, he said she'd lost her cellphone so I should give you his number if you want it." Austin remembered.

"I want it. Let me just grab a pen." Lily told him before covering the mouthpiece of the phone and looking at Chris who was clearly wondering what was going on.

"It's Austin Aries. He says that Kady is with his friend Sterling... something or other, and that they're headed for Kentucky. She's okay, according to Austin's friend." Lily relayed the message on to him. She watched him visibly relax for a moment before the tension returned.

"Sterling... Sterling James Keenan?" Chris wondered, alarm bells going off in his head.

"That's the one." Lily nodded.

"Great, just great. Our kid is now in the company of a satanist. You must be so proud." Chris hissed, pulling a hand over his head and through his hair.

"At least we know she's alive." Lily shot back before walking up to the counter to ask for a pen so that she could write down the phone number that Austin would give her.

Chris watched her from his spot in the line and silently thanked God for the fact that Kady was still breathing. He honestly didn't know what he'd do if she had turned up dead. He'd only just got her back into his life, there was no way he wanted to lose her now. But the thought that Kady was with that freak, Sterling, made him wanna hurl – granted, SJK wasn't exactly a total brain dead waste, but he was pretty close to it. And naturally, if Lily had just given the kid more discipline from the start, probably none of this would've happened!

But as far as Chris was concerned, his little girl – as much as a freak she had become – being with someone of not good company such as Sterling James Keenan... it was very conflicting. A few seconds later, a shaking Lily returned to him and was nervously dialing a number into the phone and placed it at her ear. She only met Chris' eyes for a brief second before having to turn away – once again he had that accusing look that she so didn't need right now. As far as she was concerned, he could blame her as much as his heart desired – after they got their daughter back. A connection was established and she heard the ringing through the receiver and prayed that someone answered.

"Speak," came a gruff voice on the other end and for a moment there Lily was taken aback, not entirely liking the tone of the guy who apparently had Kady with him.

"Uh, hi," she stammered. "I—" but before she could introduce herself or get a coherent sentence out, Chris ripped the phone from her hand, blocking any attempts of her trying to get it back and completely ignoring her protests.

"Keenan?"

"Who the hell's this?"

"Fuck you, where's my daughter?"

"I'm not in the habit of repeating myself..."

"It's Chris Harris. Where's Kadence?"

On the other end of the line, Sterling looked like he had been punched very hard in the stomach by who had revealed himself to be Kady's father. Chris Harris? Wow. He glanced at Kady who simply returned the confused look and mouthed the words 'who is it?' to him. He didn't reply and continued to focus on the road in front of him while recovering from the latest information.

"Keenan?"

"Chill, man she's fine!"

Kady rolled her eyes when she realized it had to be Chris on the other end, and turned to gaze out the window of the blackened environment around them, content with not knowing what words were being exchanged between Sterling and her father. Her father. Even though she would never admit in in a million years, she did feel kind of stupid for the way she spoke to him earlier that day. But then again, even if she had known before hand, she didn't think she would've behaved any differently towards the man who abandoned her when she was a baby. He wasn't her father. Nothing except genetics connected them and she was fine for it to stay that way.

"I said 'she's fine'! Fucking hell Chris I'm not gonna hurt her!"

Chris, back in Florida, wasn't entirely convinced. As much as Kady was a freak herself, Sterling was a more corrupting force than he was comfortable with having to take care of his only child.

"Put her on the phone," he growled, trying to remain as calm as possible towards the man who saved Kady's life. Apparently.

Already fed up with Chris' bullshit rantings, Sterling thrust the phone in Kady's direction. "Take it. Daddy wants to speak to you," he said with a smirk and the kid snatched the phone from his hand.

Kady seriously contemplated hanging up on Chris, but seeing the menacing look she was getting from Sterling, who had gone out of his way to save her, she reluctantly raised the phone to her ear. "Hi," she meekly spoke.

"Kady," Chris breathed a sigh of relief to hear her voice, and again gently pushed Lily away who was still trying to get the phone away from him. How was he supposed to talk to her? By saying 'hey baby, are you okay? I've been so worried about you'? Somehow that wasn't gonna work here. So, he simply said, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"What d'you care?" she venomously replied, and Chris could definitely hear the bitterness that was to be expected. "If it hadn't been for mom getting that job today, I could've died and you wouldn't have noticed. Or cared."

"Kady—"

"Fuck you, Chris!" she snapped, now ignoring the look she was getting from Sterling. "I don't need you anymore than you apparently don't need me—"

"Kady," Chris again tried to remain calm. "That's not fair—"

"Not fair? You losing a title match would be unfair. Me growing up without a father all my life and having to put up with mom's bullshit lies is fucking off the charts ridiculous!" she felt her throat constrict and then relax from the built up emotion; now was her chance to say the things to her father that she had been wanting to say all her life. Though maybe the words weren't as delicate as she could've put them.

"I can't deal with this anymore," she continued and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Kadence had always vowed never to cry if and when she ever did find her father, though now it seemed as if it was a worthless vow. She never expected this day to actually come so she sure as hell wasn't prepared for it. Or the emotional pain it would cause. "I can't deal with you. I wanna speak to mom. Put her on the phone. Now!"

Chris needed a moment to recover from the harshness and hatred of the words which his own daughter spat in his direction, and even though it was over the phone, it still hurt a lot. And he deserved every word, he knew. Without another word, he handed the phone to Lily and bit his lip. It never actually hit him until now that what Lily had been saying all along was true. He had abandoned his family for his career... he abandoned his own child and the woman he loved for wrestling and it was never clear until now. Kady hated him. Lily hated him. The two people who were supposed to mean the world to him... who did mean the world to him... he left them for his career.

"Kady!" Lily gushed into the phone, barely holding back the tears. "Oh my God baby I'm so happy you're safe! You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," the Goth-child replied. "I'm okay."

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Don't start that, Kadence. Tell me," Lily demanded.

"Mom, I'll tell you later!" Kady replied and yawned. "I'm tired."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"YES!"

"And the man you're with?"

Kady looked at Sterling who was silently concentrating on the road and she sighed. "He's cool."

"You have no idea how much God damn trouble you're in when we get there, Kadence," Lily told her, wearily rubbing her eyes. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I don't know! Okay? I fucked up, mother! Is that what you want to hear?"

"Swear like that at me again and you'll really be sorry."

"Whatever."

"Yeah, 'whatever'. You better enjoy your final few hours of peace and freedom, because I swear before God that when Chris and I get there..." Lily trailed off, sensing that Kady was getting the picture. As much as it pained her, she knew that Chris was now involved in this one way or the other and that maybe he wasn't willingly gonna just disappear as quickly as he had the last time.

"I get it." Kady sighed before ending the call and tossing the cellphone back into the center console. She leaned back against the seat, willing herself not to lose it now. She really didn't need to breakdown in front of Sterling and have him think she was a loser.

"You okay?" Sterling asked quietly, having seen the look on Kady's face. He'd ignored the minor amount of tears she'd shed before, figuring her emotion should be hers alone.

"Not really." Kady admitted, wanting nothing more than to disappear from the face of the earth totally. That would teach them.

"I get the feeling that things are extremely messed up. I'm not going to pry because, frankly, it's none of my business but... you're stuck with me until Kentucky so if you want to talk, I'll have no choice but to listen." Sterling told her.

"Thanks but, you're right, it's none of your business." Kady replied, not really wanting to talk.

"Want me to pull over so you can climb in the back and sleep?" Sterling wondered.

Kady pondered the idea for a moment before nodding. Sterling pulled the car over to the shoulder of the highway and moved things from the backseat into the trunk so that Kady would be able to stretch out. Once he was done, Kady climbed in and lay down along the seat, wrapping her arms around herself. Sterling pulled a blanket from the trunk and tossed it over her, hoping to make her feel a little more comfortable. She thanked him as he climbed back into the driver's seat and he nodded slightly before getting back on the road.

"Hey, Sterling, why does Chris dislike you so much?" Kady asked after a while.

"Same reason you didn't accept the ride from me earlier. I'm a scary motherfucker." Sterling told her with mock pride.

"You're not so bad. More human than the piece of shit that tries to call himself my father." Kady reasoned. Sterling laughed.

"Don't think many people would agree with you on that one. I'm kind of frowned upon because of the way I look and my personal beliefs. People are naturally prejudiced against things they don't understand." He shrugged.

"Tell me about it. Anyone would think that me being goth is some kind of crime or something. Small towns full of small minds, ya know?" Kady mused. She was finding it strangely easy to talk to him, now that she'd relaxed a little.

"Can I ask you something?" Sterling asked after another patch of silence. Kady was surprised he'd bothered to ask that.

"Technically, you just did." She pointed out.

"Oh, ha ha." Sterling mocked, turning to look back at her with an amused smile on his face. Kady laughed before telling him to go ahead and ask her whatever.

"Where exactly are you headed? I mean, do you have family in Kentucky or are you just randomly going to wander the streets there?" He asked her, the concern in his voice shocking her slightly.

"I may end up wandering the streets... but that's just because it's about all there is to do in Ft Wright. I was planning on crashing at my best friend's house." Kady told him.

"Good. There was no way I'd let you out of this car in the middle of nowhere." Sterling told her seriously.

"Aw. Does it hurt when you pretend to care?" Kady joked. Sterling found some rubbish or something near him and threw it over his shoulder at her.

Lily and Chris had finally made it onto a plane bound for Kentucky. Unfortunately for both of them, their seats were right next to each other. Lily settled into her seat and tried desperately to ignore the man beside her. She was tired, so tired of everything - Kady's attitude, her own anger towards Chris, it was all getting to be too much for her now. Chris seemed to overlook how tense Lily was as he decided to learn more about his daughter.

"So, when did all this goth crap start with Kady?" He asked, idly playing with the headphones a stewardess had given him.

"If you'd been part of her life, you'd already know." Lily replied without even thinking about it.

"Not this shit again. You wouldn't let me be part of her life. I tried, Lil, and you know it." Chris accused seriously, tired of hearing the same thing over and over again.

"Sure, you tried for a month and a half. Then you moved on and so did we. You can't just suddenly decide you want to play daddy now. She's almost old enough not to need either of us. You've missed your chance, Chris, and she's made my life hell because of it." Lily spoke calmly, trying to make sure he heard her, heard the emotional pain she was in.

"That's bullshit! No matter how old she gets, we'll always be her parents, she'll always need us in her life. You've denied it long enough, haven't you? Denied me long enough." Chris pointed out.

"Only returning the favor. You denied us when you left. You can think it's my fault that she is the way she is but, it's you, Chris. It's always been you. She hates me because I never told her about you. So, to punish me, she became the rebellious person she is. Blame me all you want but, I know the truth. I've been there every day of her life to see it." Lily stated firmly. She'd had enough of backing down to Chris, and to another extent, backing down to Kady. Things were going to change now – she was going to change.

"You gave me a fucking ultimatum! You said I couldn't have you and Kady as well as become a wrestler. You pushed me away and you're continuing to do it. This is about more than your hurt feelings, more than our pride. It's about that child who is out there somewhere with a complete stranger because she couldn't put up with the bullshit you started." Chris accused.

"Fuck off, Harris." Lily muttered before turning to look out the window.

She refused to let him see her cry, refused to let him see she was still hurting about the choice he made over thirteen years ago. She couldn't stop the tears, though, and they silently rolled down her cheeks. As she stared out the window, she remembered back to a time when being around Chris didn't hurt. Back when Kady loved them both unconditionally. She'd only been ten months old then, so she hadn't known any better.

_Chris, Lily and Kady had just returned to the home their parents had bought for them and the first grandchild on both sides. They'd spent a large part of the day taking Kady out to different places – her first trip to the local swimming pools, a picnic at the park, a stop at the beach which happened to be Kady's first time tasting ice cream. Chris and Lily had no idea how much the memories made in this one day alone would haunt them in the future. For now, they were happy to wonder what the future would hold for them and their child._

_"She's out like a light." Chris told Lily as he walked into the kitchen, gratefully accepting a glass of orange juice from his girlfriend._

_"Poor baby." Lily smiled, bustling around the kitchen as she prepared dinner for herself and Chris._

_"She had fun, though, no denying that." Chris laughed, remembering the look on his baby girl's face after Lily had given her a small amount of ice cream. It had been like she couldn't decide whether the cold sensation was good or not. She'd happily motioned for more once she'd figured out it tasted good._

_"Wouldn't you miss days like this if you decided to go off and train to be a wrestler?" Lily asked Chris, trying to keep the question light. He knew how she felt about the dream he held._

_"Of course. But, it's not like I'd have to give them up completely." Chris pointed out._

_"Not at first, sure. But what happens when you start getting booked for shows all over the country?" Lily pushed._

_"Drop it, Lil." Chris warned, knowing where this line of conversation usually ended up._

_"No. I'm sick of not knowing. I'm sick of my future and Kady's future being so uncertain. You have to decide what you want more, a family or a wrestling career." Lily told him, turning to watch his reaction._

_"Excuse me? What are you saying, here? I can't be a wrestler and a father? You've got to be kidding me." Chris found the idea almost laughable._

_"That's almost exactly what I'm saying. Kady deserves to have a stable future. She won't get that if you're swanning off to wrestle all the time. She should be your number one priority, me your number two." Lily pointed out._

_"Oh, come on! Plenty of wrestlers have families as well. If they can do it, why can't I?" Chris wondered._

_"Because I won't let it happen, Chris. I'd rather you walked out that door right now and never came back." Lily replied seriously._

_"Fine. If that's what you want." Chris responded as he picked up the car keys before walking out the door._

Lily sobbed aloud as she returned to reality. Maybe Chris was right, it was her fault. Kady hating her was her own fault. She had stood in Chris' way and stopped him from getting to know Kady and, to make things worse, it was still happening. Chris' attention was caught by Lily sobbing next to him. He took off the headphones and tossed them aside as he reached out for her.

"Lily, you okay?" He asked softly. He'd actually thought she'd fallen asleep.

"You're right, Chris. I'm a horrible mother, a terrible person. I thought I was doing the right thing by Kady but now... I don't know anymore." Lily sobbed, briefly allowing Chris to pull her into a hug so she was sobbing into his shoulder.

"It didn't have to come to this." Chris whispered. Lily's head snapped up and she glared at him.

"You brought it to this just as much as I did. How dare you try and blame it all on me!" Lily snapped, pushing away from Chris harshly.

He stared at her with a look of utter confusion on his face – in their thirteen years of not being in each other's lives, had she turned schizophrenic? Only seconds ago she was sobbing in his arms about how it was her fault and that she was a terrible mother, and now she completely flipped and was again accusing him of faulting her for everything. With Lily, anything was possible as Chris knew all too well. He never expected her to do what she did all those years ago, and not that it completely absolved him of responsibility for the way things turned out, he could see that it was pushing Lily to breaking point.

Lily continued to sob into a customary pillow that was provided to all flight passengers and Chris wisely backed off at that point. What could he say that could make her feel any better? Or at least, convince her that it didn't matter whose fault it was now, and all that they should be concerned with now was Kady's safety. His daughter being with that freak, Sterling James Keenan, didn't ease the situation any further – it wasn't as if he held any sort of personal grudge against the guy, but Sterling's personality wasn't what one would consider... normal. Or safe for a child to be around. At least, that's what Chris thought anyway.

"That's not what I meant, Lil," he replied wearily and rubbed his forehead, feeling a massive headache impending.

"I don't give a damn what you meant, Harris," she hissed tearfully. "The fact is... you screwed up as much as I did. And all I care about is getting her back. Once I do, we're gone. Fuck the job, we'll go somewhere else and make as if this day never happened."

Chris could feel his blood boiling at those comments and as wrong as it was to for him to want to hit a woman, he at least wanted to knock some sense into her. Given that they were on an airplane, which meant a limited capacity for any sort of aggression, he could barely contain the rage. He gripped the armrests of his seat and it took every bit of energy to not scream at her.

"We'll see about that, Lily..." he growled, darkly. Lily stared at him with renewed hatred and he returned the same feeling. "I'll haul you into court faster than you can pack."

"Is that a threat?" she challenged.

"More like a friendly warning," he replied and shifted in his seat, picking up the headphones again. "She's my daughter as much as she is yours. I have a right to know my child, Lily. I won't let you stand in my way of knowing her, not again."

"You made your choice before..."

"And now I'm making another one. The right one. You think she was screwed up before she found out about me... what do you think will happen when we shove her into the middle of a court battle?" he reasoned. "Or worse yet, if you kick me out of her life again like you did before and again deny her the right to know her father?"

Chris settled back against his seat and closed his eyes, slipping the headphones on again, not caring to pursue this conversation further. The worst thing for Lily was that she knew he was deadly serious in each other the words he spoke. She knew him too well to know when he was serious and could follow through with whatever he said he was going to do.

"And you'd be willing to drag her through court just to get back at me?" she queried, softly, wondering if his hatred for her actually did go that far down.

"No," Chris insisted. "Believe it or not, Lil, I loved you. Even after everything happened and you took Kady from me, I still loved you... I'll never hurt either of you. But don't mistake that for the fact that I will do anything to have my daughter back in my life."

"Then what stopped you? Thirteen years... you didn't try..."

"All these years and you still believe I never loved her, or you, Lily," he told her with a small smile. Any anger he had again quickly disappeared. "Or that I never thought about you two over the past thirteen years. If I believed that me being out of Kady's life would be best for her, then that's it – I'm gone."

Lily tensed up. "But you don't?"

"Not anymore. After a few years, I figured you were right. I couldn't have it both ways and by the time I realized that, it was too late. Kady was growing up, she didn't know me. I figured you had probably moved on, gotten married and had a family, which was something you wanted all along. I had no reason to believe that you weren't better off."

Curiosity had taken over the anger now, and Lily was nothing but curious to hear his reasoning behind this, considering all the chances he had to come back to them. "So what made you change your mind?"

At first he didn't reply, as if he had to think about his answer. "Seeing you both today. Seeing how things were between you and Kady. each time, it convinced me that maybe she does need me. That maybe things aren't too late. You getting it now?"

"Whatever... but you know that whether you get another chance... that's all Kady's decision. She's angry, Chris. More than I wanted to know, I guess."

Silence overtook them and both had lost the energy to keep this conversation going, and Lily resumed staring out the window at nothing at particular. Never in a million years did she think she'd see Chris again, let alone be sitting next to him on a plane while they both went to find their daughter. It had been a hellacious day and she would rather forget it, and now as it was heading into the evening, she thought about what could have been if she hadn't screwed up one of the best things that happened to her – Chris. If it wasn't for him, obviously she wouldn't have Kady. He turned to look at her again as she stared out the window.

"Why didn't you marry?"

The question startled Lily from her thoughts and it took her off guard. "What?"

He shrugged. "Why didn't you marry? I mean, that's what you wanted all along, right? To have a family?"

She chuckled and shook her head in disbelief that he would have such nerve to even ask such a question – after all, he should know the answer, right? "You gotta be kidding..." she muttered. "You honestly have no idea?"

"No, I honestly don't," he replied with a slight mocking undertone.

"Think about, Chris. All I wanted was what was best for Kady... I didn't want to get married for the sake of getting married. And I wasn't gonna marry just anyone... it had to be the right guy. And, once upon a time, I thought I had the right guy," she added the last sentence with caution, and it's implied meaning was not lost on her ex boyfriend. Not waiting for him to reply, she unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up. "Excuse me..."

Chris watched her walk down the aisle towards the bathroom, somewhat stunned at that last revelation and the innocence which was behind her words. The regret.

**4 DAYS LATER**

Kady woke and sat up to find the car stopped and empty, other than her. Surveying the surroundings, Kady laughed out loud. They'd made it! They were in Fort Wright! She was home... well, almost. It had taken four and a half days of driving and stopping at motels along the way, Sterling generously offering to get her a room, which she readily accepted. During the almost five day trip, she didn't bother to call her parents or even Danny... it was kinda cool and relaxing to not think about all that crap for a few days. Sterling had parked outside a diner that Kady and Danny usually frequented after school. The smell of coffee wafted in through the slightly open window and Kady felt the urge to go in and get one. Staring in through the diner's windows, she soon spotted Sterling sitting at a corner table, alone. Everyone, including the waitresses seemed to be giving him a wide berth. Kady wondered if he'd even been able to order.

Getting out of the car, she straightened her clothes and hair before walking into the diner. As the bell above the door jingled, one of the waitresses looked up to see who was coming in. Kady smiled at her slightly and watched her wink in reply. Danny's mother often worked the late shift. She was the reason Danny and Kady would stop in there after school – how could they refuse free food and drink?

"Hey, Kady. Are you back in town already? What happened to Florida?" Jenna Hertz asked kindly.

"Hi, Jen. I'm only here for a visit, I guess. Mom's coming to get me soon. Florida sucks and Danny and I have agreed it should be turned into one big insane asylum." Kady told her honestly.

"Why do I get the feeling this is another attic situation?" Jenna asked suspiciously.

"It kind of started out that way but mom knows I'm here, now. Besides, I figured I'd try the basement this time." Kady teased. Jenna laughed and Kady waved to her and headed for the table that Sterling was situated at.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakes." Sterling mocked as Kady slid into the seat across from him.

"Whatever. Did you manage to get served?" Kady asked with a raised eyebrow, noting that the table between them was empty.

"Not yet, no. Guess small town Kentucky doesn't like freaks." Sterling reasoned.

"I'll fix that. What do you want?" She asked. Sterling told her and Kady called the order out to Jenna. She didn't fail to notice the look of shock on Jenna's face when she saw Kady interacting with Sterling. Sterling didn't fail to notice it either.

"You know her?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, she's my friend Danny's mother. She's alright." Kady shrugged a little.

"Don't think she'd say the same about me." Sterling winked as Jenna brought over some steaming mugs of coffee.

"Jen, this is Sterling James Keenan. He's been nice enough to drive me pretty much all the way here. And, before you ask, no he's not the reason I ran away from Florida." Kady introduced, knowing exactly what Jenna was probably thinking.

"I wasn't going to say anything, honest." Jenna smiled as Sterling offered her his hand to shake. He didn't let the handshake last too long though.

"Sure, Jen, sure. Could you call Danny and let him know I'm here? I lost my cellphone and Sterling's already let me use his enough." Kady asked hopefully.

"I guess I can do that for you. Anything else you need?" Jenna asked politely.

"Now that you mention it... a place to stay until mom arrives would be good." Kady figured she should clear it with Jenna, knowing Danny would just sneak her in otherwise.

"Of course, Kady. When has our door ever been closed to you?" Jenna challenged.

"For about a month after the attic incident." Kady reminded quickly. Jenna laughed and went back behind the counter and grabbed the phone to call her son.

"So, you're not always the angry little person I got to see in the car, huh?" Sterling wondered after watching the interaction.

"Only around my mother." Kady answered shortly. Silence descended on them for a little while until Jenna came back over with the food they'd ordered.

"Danny says he'll be down here shortly. No leading him astray, alright?" Jenna told Kady quietly.

"Thanks, Jen. And it's usually him leading me astray, I swear." Kady shot back. Sterling shook his head, not believing it for a moment.

"Shush, you. If anyone gets led astray tonight, I'll blame it all on you." Kady teased.

"And everyone would believe you because I'm the devil, right?" Sterling played along.

"Exactly. Danny and I would be innocent, for once. Wow, can't have that." Kady replied, snapping back to reality.

Sterling fought the urge to laugh, wanting to keep the unapproachable aura around him going. They sat quietly both appreciating the food and company for a while before the bell over the door jingled. Kady looked up and watched Danny walk over to the counter to talk to his mother. Before long, Jenna had pointed towards the table Kady and Sterling were at and Danny headed over. As he got closer, though, he stopped still.

"Ah... Kady, can I talk to you for a second?" Danny asked hesitantly. Kady looked down at her food, across the table at Sterling and then back to Danny. She slowly got up and walked over to him.

"What's up?" She asked, wondering if she had spilled food all over herself or something.

"You do realize that you're sitting with Sterling James Keenan, right?" He whispered quietly.

"Yes, I do. He's the one that drove me here after the bus ditched me at some crap hole diner in the middle of nowhere. Wait... how do you know who he is?" Kady asked suspiciously.

"I saw him wrestle at an IWC show when I stayed with my dad. He's a pretty good wrestler, could set the big time alight if someone would actually sign him." Danny admitted.

"No kidding?" Kady lightly replied. "You want me to ask him for an autograph for you or something?"

"Do I look like a pathetic fan girl?" he shot back.

"That's debatable, given your reaction when you saw him," she continued to tease him, and Danny's expression grew darker and she held up her hands, defensively. "Kidding, kidding! Come on, sit down. People will think we're conspiring to blow up something or whatever..."

"And that's a bad thing? OWW!" he moaned and jumped back when Kady slapped him upside the head.

"Sit down, freak." She ordered.

"Ooh is that an order? Want me to wear a leash and muzzle too?"

Kady replied with a stern glare and he responded with a dark grin that would creep most people out with the obvious exception of his best friend. Meanwhile, Sterling hadn't been paying much attention except that he noticed that the person who Kady was talking to – probably that Danny friend of hers – looked and acted in the same way she did, another goth. He didn't pay attention to what they were saying, although knew it was probably about him, but again he didn't care. He only looked up when out of the corner of his eye, Kady sat back down followed by her fellow goth friend.

"Sterling, this is my freak boy, Danny. Danny, I believe you're already familiar with Sterling..."

Sterling raised an eyebrow at that and Danny shrugged. "I know your work," he replied. "Not bad."

"Glad to have your approval, man" came the reply. Kady smirked. Three very antisocial, very weird individuals commuicating in the only way they know how – through very little words. Kady went back to consuming her food and stared up at the clock on the wall. It was well into the night now, at 8:30 PM. She knew then it wouldn't be long before her mother and – father – would be here. But she would be damned (although she probably already was) if she'd let Chris come in and start acting like her dad for the first time in her life. For all she cared, Chris could be dead. In fact, he was dead to her. He was not her father.

"Spacing out there again, Kady," Danny broke her from her thoughts. "Where ever you are, can I come?"

"Hell no," she replied. "My world is off limits to everyone."

"Including me?"

"Yup."

"Bitch."

"You can keep complementing me, but the answer is still no, freak!"

Sterling rolled his eyes and stared out the window into the darkness. Kentucky was not his intended destination, but he was actually not hating being here or getting away from it all. At least, even though they were kids, they shared the same screwed view of the world as he did, well... probably not as much as him. But this experience was bearable, though not the most idealistic situations he thought he'd be in as he knew that he had obligations like the show he was supposed to be at tomorrow night. He figured that when Kady's parents got there, he'd be on his way especially to avoid any confrontation with Chris Harris. Just the news that he is Kady's father was enough to shock him, but knowing that fact now, it wasn't hard to see the similarities, particularly in personality – the aggressive nature that both father and daughter exerted was eerily close. Granted, he didn't really know Harris all that well but it was obvious that she was his kid. But alas, his thoughts of avoiding any conflict with Chris did not resonate with reality, as the door to the diner opened and a few seconds later...

* * *

**A/N2:** Lizzie likes cliffhangers. She's strange like that... Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Things are really going to start heating up from this point on. Let us know what you thought of this chapter in a review. As always, constructive criticism is accepted and flames will be used to roast marshmellows. Thanks. **_Phoenix_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. That is all.

**A/N:** Okay, so I didn't exactly get Phoenix's permission to post a new chapter, but you know what? I'm rebelling against the damn authority. That's right, Phoenix! Ha ha! Hi, I'm Lizzie, I've emerged from the shadows for this rare appearance and I'm the fellow freak that's co-writing this story. Two twisted minds coming together and the inner workings of our twisted personalities explode onto your computer screen. Or whatever. Now, read on and excuse me while I go roast some old Barbie dolls over an open fire... **_'The Dark One' Lizzie_**

* * *

"KADY!"

All three of them looked up and Kady let out a groan when she saw her very distraught mother rushing towards her. During the first few days she was away from her new job, she called Jarrett to explain the family emergency, and to her surprise he actually bought it. Barely. Just behind Lily, Chris was striding forward with a very pissed off look on his face. Sterling smirked when he saw Kady's reaction to her parents, and Danny wisely decided to scoot out of the way and stay out of it entirely. Jenna watched from behind the counter and tensed up.

"Oh great," Kady muttered and stood up just as Lily and Chris reached them. "Oh, wait! Concerned parents? My mistake - I mistook you for my mom and dad!"

Danny's jaw dropped at that revelation, and was more stunned than anything. His best friend's father was professional wrestler, Chris Harris? For so long he had to put up with Kady's rantings about how she hated her mother for not telling her about who her dad was, and now, within a week of moving to Florida, she had both her parents standing before her. And Danny being somewhat of a wrestling fan, the fact that it was TNA star Chris Harris made the situation even more weird.

Meanwhile, Jenna skeptically looked on. She and Lily were never on the best terms, dating back to high school, but forced themselves into coexistence for the sake of their children. It was an uneasy coexistence. Of course, she knew about Chris and Lily... it was hard not to know given the close-knit community they all grew up in. To see them together now, and with Kadence - to say that she was shocked was an understatement.

Kady moved to leave, but as she walked past Chris, he reached out and gripped her arm, effectively stopping her from going any further. "Hey!" she yelled, not giving a damn who was listening or about creating a disturbance, and shoved Chris but his strength rendered her efforts fruitless. "FUCK OFF!"

He let go of her arm just as Lily pulled the child into her arms and sobbed openly, though Kady didn't (as expected) return the hug. A few seconds later, Lily pulled away to study her child. Chris stood back, obviously uncomfortable – what the hell would he say? Or, more specifically, what could he justifiably say to Kady? On one hand, he is her father by natural right. On the other hand, he was never in her life and thus some people would say that he gave up his right to be a father the moment he walked away. Kady didn't bother to push her mother away, or do anything to actively antagonize the situation, except roll her eyes in an act of complete indifference.

"Baby, I'm so happy your safe," Lily whispered, and then in a 180 degree spin, she slapped Kady upside the head and the fourteen-year-old goth child reeled back.

"What the--? What was that for!"

"You've gotta be kidding..." she heard Chris mutter and decided to ignore him.

"I swear, Kadence Myers you are gonna be the God damn death of me," Lily snapped and cupped Kady's face between her hands, at the same time inspecting Kady's physical condition. "You really are!"

"Really? Wow, then maybe this wasn't all such a bad thing after all!" Kady retorted sarcastically; that very comment that even took her fellow anti-socialites, Sterling and Danny, off guard and the other few patrons of the diner gasped and whispered to each other about how this girl was speaking to her mother. Lily took a step back in shock, and Chris became enraged further. Now he really hated not having been there to stop this train wreck from happening. Before Lily had a chance to regain her composure, he again grabbed Kady's arm and pulled her to the entrance of the diner.

"Let me go!" she screamed at him, kicking and punching him with all her strength.

Chris had obviously sustained worse attacks in the ring so it didn't bother him and he practically kicked down the door and pushed Kady outside, again much to the shock of the patrons and other people in or around the diner, Lily included – and she followed her daughter and ex boyfriend outside. Understandably they were attracting a bit of an audience, and Danny and his mother were next to follow them out. Sterling followed as well, but kept a distance away. Chris let go of Kady again when they were about thirty or so feet away from the diner and she spun around and attempted to hit him as hard as she could, but he was too quick and caught her at her wrists before she connected with him.

"You fucking asshole, what the hell is your problem?" Kady wasn't about to stand down to him.

"My problem? You wanna know what _my_ problem is, little girl?" he challenged, stepping closer to her. His sheer imposing stature was enough to get Kady to back off just a little bit, but she remained as defiant as ever. Chris suddenly had a feeling of sympathy for his ex girlfriend, now having a bit of an understanding as to what she had to deal with everyday. "Other than now knowing just how much trouble you can get yourself into, in one day? You speak to your mother like that again, and you'll know for yourself how much trouble you can get in. Get it?"

"Oh, so now you're gonna be a father to me? Who the hell gave you that right?"

Lily stood not to far away now, feeling paralyzed and helpless to stop this impending explosion between father and daughter. Things were going to have to be said, and the emotions were running high. She looked back at Jenna who simply shrugged, and Danny had a kind of stoned expression. Standing to the side, and a far bit further away, by a car, another person was watching whom she could only assume to be that Sterling James Keenan person Chris had told her about earlier.

"You did!" Chris yelled at her, infuriated even more by the obvious lack of respect that this kid – _his_ kid – had for not just Lily, but for everyone in general. "Because it's become damn clear to me in just one fucking day that you need me here. God damn it, Kady! What the hell happened to you?"

"What happened to me? YOU! You left!" Kady screamed hysterically. "You left me to live off _her_ lies! You left me, Chris. And you wonder why I'm so screwed up? Look at what you left me to deal with. You left me! _You_ left _me_!"

Lily knew she should step in, but at the same time it had to come to this, sooner or later. And the reason they were so angry at each other was all because of her actions, and it became evident since they both blamed her. Jenna told her son to stay where he was and then she walked over to where Lily was standing, and leaned in close to her.

"Are you just going to stand there and let them go at each other like that?"

"Do you think I got a choice?" Lily replied, angrily. "It was gonna come to this sooner or later..."

"Jesus, Lil! Since when were you going to tell her about Chris?"

"It happened by accident, Jenna! It's a long story..."

Kadence wanted nothing to do with the man in front of her, or her mother anymore – Jenna and Danny were more of a family to her than her real parents ever were. She felt more betrayed by them now than ever before, and to think of the nerve Chris had to impose parental authority over her now? He had thirteen years to make amends and he screwed up every chance he had. Was his absence the reason she turned out the way she did? Not entirely. But there was not even a foundation for which trust could be built between them now; it was too late in her mind. She hated her mother for lying to her face time and time again. She hated her mother for forcing her to move to Florida. And she hated herself for having met Chris. All her life she wanted to know her father but now, when she was presented with the opportunity to do so, she didn't want it. The betrayal was too much for her to ignore.

"I hate you," she whispered, looking directly into his eyes and meaning every word. "I don't ever want to know you, you bastard. I thought I wanted to, but I don't. You want to know why I'm like this, Chris? Take a good long fucking look in the mirror and you'll have your answer!"

Never had any of them heard such hateful words come from the mouth, the soul of a young child, but there it was. And the only thing worse than hearing the words, but seeing the full impact and belief of them in her eyes. Chris turned away momentarily to regain his strength which he had been gradually losing and looked back at Lily who was now with Jenna. Yeah, he remembered Jenna all too well, more specifically the fighting she and Lily used to get into at school.

Jenna was more with the outcast clique while Lily had always been the preppy girl, so right away their differences became an issue. Sometimes Jenna could be so cruel and the pranks she pulled so mean that it would reduce Lily to tears and she'd literally run from the school, and he'd always go after her. So it was odd to see them standing together now, but it was not of his concern. He met Lily's sad eyes, and could tell she was on the edge of giving up – all the years of dealing with a troubled child not withstanding, there was only so much she could put up with now.

"Kady, you have no idea—" he started to reply but paused to think about what he could say to her. Nothing was going to calm her down or make her believe whatever it is he did say. "You hate us, I get that. This isn't the way to deal with it, though..."

"How am I supposed to deal with it? Tell me! I didn't expect any of this shit to happen. I don't want it. As far as I'm concerned, you and mom can go straight to hell!" Kady didn't bother to hide the tears and hoped she was making them both feel guilty for what they'd done to her. Having her parents together was worse than having them apart, something that she had already learned in these few hours she had seen them together. If they weren't at each other's throats, they were trying to convince Kady that she shouldn't be at their throats for what they were doing.

"Say that again," he dared her, in a whisper. Even the big bad 'Wildcat' Chris Harris was having trouble keeping the tears away; no parent liked to hear their child say such horrible words. "Go on, Kady. Say it again."

Getting back some of her shattered confidence, Kady took one more step up to him. "You and mom can go to HELL!"

Even Danny had never seen the usually indifferent, cynical Kady Myers with so much passion in her voice, it was as if she had momentarily become an entirely different person. Of course, seeing your father for the first time ever after fourteen years was a legitimate reason for her to get passionate about it. Kady finally tore away from her icy gaze that was locked onto Chris, and over his shoulder to where Danny was standing.

"Hey, freak!" she called, returning somewhat to her normal state of mind. "Let's go!"

Kady shoved past Chris, who barely registered that she had moved at all, and went to meet up with Danny; Sterling watching her with caution all the time – not once did his eyes leave her. She was a lot angrier than even he anticipated; she took him completely by surprise with the absolutely horrible attitude she had. As Kady walked by her mother, Lily made a quick reach out and wrapped her fingers tightly around Kady's wrist; the teen suddenly stopped and turned around.

"What the hell are you doing? Let me go!" Kady tried to jerk her wrist away, but Lily held on – this was the angriest she had ever been with her daughter. Sure, she wasn't particularly fond of Chris but at least he was making an effort, and Kady's attitude had pushed her to breaking point. "Let me go, I hate you! Stupid bitch!"

SLAP

Kady stumbled back in surprise, and Danny almost passed out at what he just saw. Jenna gasped in horror, and Sterling couldn't remain distant and uninvolved and came closer to the group, stopping about ten feet behind Kady. Lily just slapped her own daughter, pretty damn hard too. But the woman, who had tears streaming in rivers down her cheeks, stared coldly at Kady whom she loved more than anything. Chris took a couple of steps forward, not believing what just happened and Lily blinked several times, breathing deeply. Mother and daughter stared at each other, and Kady rubbed the sore spot where Lily had hit her – as much as she thought that Lily didn't give a damn about her, she never expected that she would get, in her mind, physically abused. She scowled and then lunged at Lily who reacted just in time and jumped out of the way.

"YOU FUCKING GOD DAMN BITCH! I HATE YOU! GO TO HELL AND DIE!" Kady sobbed, and before she could successfully launch herself at Lily again, Sterling jumped forward and picked her up by the waist; her arms and legs swinging and kicking wildly at her mother.

Chris rushed to Lily's side and, in a protective move, pulled her away from Kady's psychotic outburst. Jenna pulled her son away from what was happening. By now, a small crowd of maybe six or seven people had gathered around the diner to see what the fuss was about. Once he knew Kady couldn't reach Lily, who was now crying hysterically and had sunk to the ground, he turned his attention to the guy who was holding Kady and snapped into action once more. Ignoring Kady's rantings and physical out lashings, he pulled her out of Sterling's arms. Chris wasn't stupid enough to let her go, knowing full well that she would do something incredibly stupid, and held her with one arm quite effectively.

"I HOPE YOU CAN SLEEP NOW, MOM!" Kady screamed. "You go to sleep now, knowing you hit your only daughter!"

"Jenna!" Chris called to the woman who was still dumbfounded by what just happened. "Damn it... JENNA!"

"What?"

"Take Kady to your house. Can she stay there for a while?"

Afraid of pissing him off further, she replied with a quick nod and whispered for Danny to go tell the manager what was happening, and he complied and got Kady's stuff from Sterling's car with his permission. In one day, Kady and Lily's lives had gone straight to hell and there was a lot to answer for. Jenna approached Kady and whispered some words into her ear, presumably to implore her to calm down. Both Chris and Lily were heartbroken at the pain their daughter was going through, all because of their idiocy in not putting her interests first.

Jenna managed to only just get the girl to calm down and pulled on her arm, pulling Kady in the direction of her car; the gothic hardcore facade fading from her with each sob and tear. After she was gone, the small crowd started to break up and soon only Lily, Chris and Sterling remained in the parking lot. With the exception of Lily's crying, there was only silence; none of them knowing how to react to what had turned out to be an extremely screwed up day. To say the least.

"You drove Kady here?" Chris finally found some words to speak, and directed them at Sterling.

"She needed help," came the reply. "She's a smart fucking kid, Chris. More than you give her credit for."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. About halfway here, she missed the damn bus and decided to hitch the rest of the way. I pulled up," Sterling explained, leaning against a light pole. "She ditched my offer and went for a less scary looking guy. Smart. At the time."

Chris went back to Lily to make sure she was okay, but at the same time he kept note of where Sterling was. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What that means, Harris, is that the asshole turned out to be not so clean cut after all. The motherfucker tried to move on Kadence."

Simultaneously Lily and Chris looked up at him in horror.

"What?" Lily whimpered. Sterling crossed his arms; his expression hardened.

"You know what I mean. She's just lucky I was trailing them and saw the dude turn off the highway. I would've killed him but she asked me to get her out of there."

Chris exhaled and fell backwards onto the ground, exhausted. No longer could he keep his emotions hidden and wiped the tears from his eyes. To his great surprise, Lily moved to rest against him. Her breathing changed in depth to hyperventilation, and she struggled to get air into her lungs. The drama of the week put to rest any hostilities they had for each other and Chris let her into his arms to calm her down. He remembered from years ago the breathing troubles she used to get when she became too stressed. Once upon a time she'd had to take medication for it.

"Look, I'll leave you guys to do whatever shit you need to do, I'm out of here. I'll be checking into the nearest motel or whatever I can find." Before they got a chance to respond, Sterling had disappeared almost as quickly as he had appeared in the first place.

Now it was just Chris and Lily remaining, left to their own devices. It was strange to have the woman he truly detested back in his arms and the funniest thing of all was that she really had not changed much since the last time. That's not to suggest anything of the sort that the same old feelings remained, but it was still a comfort. For Lily, the comfort was now the possibility of not having to carry the burden of Kady's troubles all on her own shoulders anymore. That reason alone was almost enough to ease her into the idea that Chris being back in their lives might not be a bad thing at all, but it was too soon to tell. Lily's barriers to him were breaking down, he could tell, though she still wouldn't let anyone else know how much pain she was in; thats what happened after he left – Lily clammed up.

"I can't deal with this anymore, Chris," she said, softly. "It's too hard... I swear to God, I tried."

"I know," he replied, equally as soft. "We both fucked up with her, Lil... I know it's not all your fault."

"I've never seen her so angry. I didn't mean to hit her, I—"

"Lily, do me a favor and shut up for a second," Chris interrupted and ran his fingers through his hair, sighing dejectedly. "I know you didn't mean it, okay? Anyway... I guess... I'm the one who should be sorry. And I am."

She wasn't looking at him, however heard the sincerity with which he spoke, indicating more than regret for what he did.

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't hate him for what he did. Walking out. Lily didn't exactly put him in the best position, and what was killing her most of all now was that it took putting Kady through so much turmoil to get them to be at peace with each other. "Somehow, I don't think this has to do with just what happened today though," he added.

Lily sat up and moved a couple inches away from him after noticing how close they had been. "No. You're right. It's been happening for too long... and I let it happen. I don't know what we're gonna do with her anymore."

Chris pushed himself up off the ground and brushed the dirt off his clothes. Just as he helped Lily to her feet, his cell phone went off. He groaned and chuckled bitterly, a feeling shared by her, and took out the phone.

"Shit," he muttered upon seeing who the caller was on Caller ID.

"Who?"

"James."

"Oh."

"James?" he answered it with apprehension.

"Dude, where the hell are you?" his partner's voice bellowed. Okay, he was mad. Probably drunk too. "I totally got jumped by the Naturals in the ring during training, not to mention the help they got from Levy... bastard! I swear I'll fuck him up when I can actually stand up properly again."

Uh oh. James had no idea that Chris wasn't actually in the state anymore, or that he'd hopped a flight back to Kentucky. The flight from Florida had taken around two hours, not to mention the countless hours he and Lily spent trying to find their troublesome teen once they were actually there.

"You've been hitting the bottle again," Chris assumed. "Nice one. Idiot."

"_No_... well, not much. Chase Stevens split my head wide open. I'm gonna get that bastard when he's not expecting it. 15 stitches. I'm gonna wake up with a God damn headache tomorrow, something I don't need considering we're up against Team 3D. Which brings me back to my original question... where the hell are you?"

"You don't wanna know, James."

"Oh, yes I do!" he insisted. "And you know you're gonna tell me, so get it over with, partner."

"Long story," Understandably Chris wasn't going to go into details. "I'm with Lily."

James sat up from his position of laying down on the bed in his hotel room with sparked curiousity. _Now,_ he thought, _he's been gone with her for four days... so what would Chris be doing with his ex...?_ Well, knowing Chris, a few things came to mind but James decided to play it safe and not test his partner's patience futher. Even he wasn't that stupid... except when he was trashed. "You're with your ex? Uh... doing what, exactly?"

"Not what you think, moron. Seriously, how much have you had to drink tonight?"

"You know I'm just playin'."

"Uh huh."

"Chris," James did his best to take on a serious tone. "Where are you two? Three days ago you call and cancel our part on the show that night; no one's heard a word from you since; Jarrett's wondering what the hell is up with you. I think the only reason he's not having a psychotic breakdown is because of your track record. But dude... people are starting to _talk_..."

"Already?"

"Well it didn't take long for those few incidents to get around, you know. You and Jarrett's new assistant are the talk of the locker rooms."

Chris shook his head in disgust, and made a silent promise to beat the shit out of his partner when he got back to Florida, knowing James would've had a big role in letting the gossip spread. Lily watched him intently.

"Just what I don't need," Chris replied. "Man, things are so fucked right now. Which reminds me... you're gonna have to tell Jarrett I won't be able to make the show tonight."

Silence.

"James?"

"Please tell me it's the booze thats impairing my hearing and you didn't just say that."

"I'm sorry, James."

James didn't believe what his tag partner was telling him, and thought that it had to be Chris playing another one of his pathetic pranks again. "Where are you?"

"Kentucky."

James paused again to absorb this new information. "Are you fucking kidding me, Harris?"

"Kady ran away, man. She hopped a damn coach to come back here to get back at Lily and me. So Lil and I got a plane back, we had to wait three days for her to get here. Not to mention the disturbing fact that she hitched a ride with Sterling James Keenan, of all people!"

"Really?"

"Yes! So you get why I've been kinda distracted?"

As Chris bantered back and forth with James, Lily wrapped her arms around herself to preserve heat; the night bringing with it a coldness she wasn't expecting. Chris looked at her, noticing her impatience and the visible desire to get into the warmth – she had been having a rough past few days, maybe even more so than he was because she'd had to live with Kady for all fourteen years.

"Chris, I—"

"I gotta go. Tell Jarrett it's a family emergency and to call me himself or whatever but I can't be there tomorrow."

"You forget it's my ass that'll get kicked!"

"James, this is my daughter's life we're talking about!" Chris snapped, impatiently. "It's no fucking contest."

"Yeah, I get it. Don't worry, I'll take care of it okay?"

A few seconds later Chris ended the call and turned back to Lily, who was now staring up at the stars, wondering why it had taken Chris so long to see that Kady's life was more important than wrestling. Chris remembered that she had always been intrigued by the stars for as long as he had known her, going all the way back to when they met in their junior year of high school.

One thing that made them friends to begin with was her constantly changing interests and the curious nature she had once possessed, though now it looked to be a part of her personality that died a long time ago. In it's place grew the need for her to protect Kady as well as keep her out of trouble. Chris joined her and shoved the phone into his back pocket and, for a few minutes, he let her stare into the sky as she remained unconcerned about his presence. There was nothing worse than losing a daughter, especially when it's by your own hand. Lily wouldn't be surprised if Kady slipped into a world where they could never reach her again (I.E. gangs, drugs, or whatever) and she was almost certain it was on Chris' mind too.

"Do you think..." her quiet voice broke through the wall of silence like a sledgehammer. "That she'll ever forgive us?"

"Let's put it this way – would you?"

"Point taken," she agreed, and yawned. "What time is it?"

Chris checked his watch. "9:05. Tired?"

"Very."

There was not so much awkwardness as there was confusion as to how to deal with each other now. They were past the anger stage, and the denial, so they were most likely in the 'acceptance' stage of all this. There was nothing they could do about it now, and if they hadn't already, they were at least on the very edge of losing Kady for good. Chris removed his jacket and offered it to Lily, as an act of peace. At first she was hesitant to accept, not sure if she was ready to accept Chris even on a friendly level rather than one of an uneasy truce, but he shook it at her as encouragement and, after a few seconds of deliberation, she took the jacket and slipped it over her shoulders.

"Thanks," she whispered. "I suppose this means we're cool with each other, right?"

"After thirteen years? Hell no," he replied with a smirk. "But I think we can at least live with each other... not in that way, but you know..." he added when she narrowed her eyes at him.

It was the first light moment between them in so long, it was refreshing from the torture they'd inflicted on each other viciously over the last several days. Lily closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, holding the fresh, crisp air in her lungs for as long as possible and savored the clean taste that she already missed about Kentucky. Chris watched her, amused at her behavior.

"Come on, it's freezing..." he tapped her arm and nodded to the rental car they'd hired at the airport a few days earlier.

"Aw, big bad Chris Harris can't take the cold?" Lily teased, lightly punching him but followed him anyway.

"You wanna be picking a fight with me?"

"One thing I know about you, Harris... you ain't that tough with women."

"Women? True. You? Tough as nails, baby."

"Ooh, that was harsh."

The drive back to the motel was short, uneventful and dull; they didn't say a thing to each other but tuned in to the local radio station that killed any awkward silence that could arise. Remembering Kady as an innocent little girl in her ballet outfit as a five year old and then comparing it with what Lily saw tonight; it was a startling contrast – you would never recognize the baby Kadence compared with the teenage one. That could be pretty much applied to all teenagers, but it was like Kady wanted to disown her entire past. After arriving back at the motel, they stopped just outside Lily's room.

"We need to talk about how we're going to deal with her, Lil..." he told the inevitable truth.

"I know. But... it's not like we're gonna be able to do anything tonight though, right?" she told him with a small laugh to ease the tension. "We don't have to make this harder than it is, Chris. We both moved on ages ago but I don't think we ever prepared ourselves for something like this happening. Maybe that's where we screwed up," she smiled slyly. "We wanted so badly to forget each other that we didn't even think about what would happen when Kady grew up."

"You nailed it," Chris agreed.

"Don't worry," Lily continued with a bit more confidence. "I doubt I'll hate you forever. One day you may even deserve to be forgiven."

"Getting a little cocky there, aren't ya?" he joked.

"Yeah, well it's a change of mental scenery, I guess."

The two of them then said their good night's and parted ways; Lily unlocking her motel room door and slipping inside, closing it behind her straight away. Chris stared after her for a few seconds and then walked to his room. Now was the time to think of what to do about Kady. Little did they know that she was doing the exact same thing about them.

"I can't fucking believe them! How dare they try to act like me being fucked up is my own fault! How the hell did they even know where I was, anyway?" Kady yelled, pacing around the living room of Jenna and Danny's house. Jenna was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and Danny was sitting on one of the couches, his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Kady. Your mom called me when she got here a few days ago and said you were on your way. She asked me to call her if you made an appearance, so I called her after I told Danny you were here. I wish I hadn't now." Jenna told her honestly. Kady turned and glared at her. How could she do that? Wasn't Jenna supposed to be on her side?

"I really can't believe this shit! They have the nerve to gang up on me in public. Mom has the fucking gall to hit me. God, they make me so angry!" Kady fumed.

"Really? We couldn't tell." Danny piped up from the couch. Kady had been repeating the same things over and over since they got back to the house. It was really starting to grate on his nerves.

"Shut up, Danny. I don't need shit from you as well." Kady told him, continuing to pace as she rubbed a hand over the spot that her mother had slapped earlier before pushing her hand through her short hair.

"They'll get what's coming to them, I swear." Kady vowed. Jenna sighed out loud and moved into the living room to stand in front of Kady, who was now standing in front of the fireplace.

"Kady, you need to calm down. All this anger isn't going to get anyone anywhere. Maybe you should try seeing things from their point of view, yeah?" Jenna tried, figuring she should attempt to put an adult spin on things. Normally, she just let Kady and Danny be themselves.

"Their side? You act like they're together or something! They're not, you know! They're just trying to make my life worse than it already was. I won't have it! I won't!" Kady screamed, grabbing a vase off the mantelpiece and throwing it straight down at the floor to emphasize her point. Jenna had finally had enough.

"Danny, could you take her outside for a bit? Maybe she'll cool down out there." She urged her son as she knelt to clean up the mess.

Danny got off the couch and, with a sigh, grabbed Kady by her shoulders, pushing her in front of him through the kitchen and out the back door. Once they were outside, Danny let her go and led the way over to the edge of a creek that ran through the property. He and Kady used to play in the creek when they were younger, if it got hot enough. Now, Danny sat down on the bank and started tossing clumps of dirt and grass into the steady flowing water. Kady followed suit and sat down heavily next to him, breathing in the cool night air as much as her stressed out state would let her.

"You went a little overboard in there." Danny stated quietly, wondering what reaction it would garner from his volatile friend.

"Well, I apologize if my imperfect world is suddenly crashing down around me and it happens to spill over into your perfect world. Heaven forbid you should cut me some slack." Kady retorted, slowly calming down now that she was in familiar surroundings with her best friend.

"I'll cut you some slack if you cut my mom some. She's just trying to help." Danny pointed out defensively. He and his mother were considerably closer than Kady was to her family.

"Yeah, I know. I'll apologize for the vase later. I didn't mean to go that far. I just... I don't know what to do now. I'm... so incredibly lost." Kady admitted, knowing that Danny would listen without casting judgment on her.

"It's a messed up situation, no doubt. But... what is it that they want, really?" Danny asked, wondering if Kady had thought about the situation as much as he had, given his outsider status.

He'd been in the perfect position to be a quiet observer of the goings on and he'd formed his own opinion of what Chris Harris and Lily Myers each wanted for his best friend. He was sure they'd both be surprised to learn that they wanted the same thing. He just needed for Kady to see it first, to give her the edge on them.

"Hell if I know." Kady shrugged, grabbing a handful of grass and pulling it from the earth, dirt still clinging to the roots. She waved the clump backwards and forwards for a while before letting it go so that it sailed into the creek, landing with a splash.

"They want you to be happy and well adjusted. For lack of a better term, they want you to be normal." Danny offered. Kady thought it over and nodded, knowing that that was what it all came down to, in the end.

"Pity I think I am normal then, isn't it." Kady spoke wryly. Danny laughed.

"You're the most normal person I know, besides my mother. But, that's not the point. You keep saying you want to get some kind of revenge on them, right?" Danny paused, wondering if he should really continue.

"Of course. I want them to realize exactly what they've done to me." Kady agreed. Danny smiled.

"How did you work the prank on old McNaulty? What made it so great?" Danny pushed, trying to get her to come to the realization herself. The prank on their principal was really the best example he could come up with.

"I don't know... I guess I let him think I'd chilled out, or whatever, and then hit him with it when he wasn't expecting it." Kady shrugged, not seeing the point.

"Exactly. You lulled him into a false sense of security. You played him. Imagine the impact you'd have if you tried the same thing on your parents." Danny smiled, having to spell it out more than he thought he would.

"I see where you're going with this, and I think I like it. So... I chill out around mom and Chris, let them think every thing's going to work out, and then hit them with something when they least expect it? Brilliant and surprisingly easy." Kady finally smiled, a weight lifting off her shoulders slightly.

"Well, as the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold." Danny laughed. Kady took a deep breath, finally able to let it calm her completely.

"I guess I need to work on playing nice then, huh?" She smiled awkwardly, not liking the thought of giving her parents what they wanted. In the grand scheme of things, though, she'd show them. She'd make them feel everything she did - the anger, the hate, the confusion. Then they'd know what they'd done to her.

"It might help." Danny shrugged. Kady nodded, happy with the plan of action.

"So... when, and how, does this niceness start?" She wondered. Danny shot her a sideways glance before getting to his feet. He offered Kady his hands and helped her to her feet as he spoke next.

"Starts now, by cleaning you up. You look awful, even for a freak." He teased as they walked back towards the house.

"You know, I told your mother it was you that led me astray most of the time but I don't think she believed me." Kady told him as they reached the back door.

"That's cos I'm an angel." Danny smirked, knowing all too well that Kady had helped him pull of a lot of stunts, only for her to end up in trouble with Lily while his own mother just laughed and said something about kids being kids.

"Whatever! Freak." Kadence mumbled as he let her into the house.

"And proud of it." Danny shot back without missing a beat.

Kady laughed slightly before they walked into the living room. Jenna was sitting on the couch, a cup of coffee in her hands. Danny made an excuse about having to set up the spare bed in his room for Kady and left quickly, leaving Kady to make amends with his mother.

"Feeling better?" Jenna asked softly.

"Much. I... I shouldn't have broken the vase. It was stupid of me. I'll replace it." Kady told her, getting straight to the point.

"Don't worry about it. I think it was a gift from your mother last Christmas." Jenna winked. Kady smiled genuinely, spotting the age old rivalry between Jenna and Lily behind Jenna's words.

"Well, I think I should get cleaned up and then crawl into bed. The insanity isn't over yet and think the sleep might actually do me good." Kady figured.

"Alright, hon. Night." Jenna smiled.

Kady waved a hand in her direction before heading towards the bathroom. Once she was there, she locked the door behind herself and took a long look in the mirror. Danny hadn't been kidding when he'd said she looked awful. Her eyes were puffy and stained by the mascara and eye liner that had pooled into the trails that now ran down her cheeks. She had to admit, the look could've worked if she'd actually meant for it to happen. It looked rather... bad, otherwise.

Kadence grabbed a washcloth from the sink and ran it under the hot water before using it to scrub away the makeup. As her face got cleaner, an idea of how to act 'nice' was forming in her head. She knew her mother hated seeing her with so much makeup on. There were always comments made about how pretty she was, that she didn't need it all. That had been why Kady had started wearing her make up heavier and darker. Now, though, she wondered if maybe she should start slowly easing off the makeup. It would be a visual way for her mother and Chris to see that she was 'making an effort' or whatever.

Mulling the idea over, Kady grabbed a comb off the bench and quickly put it through her disheveled hair. When she was satisfied that she looked as tidy as she was going to, she unlocked the door and made her way to Danny's room. He'd dumped her gym bag and backpack on the floor beside her bed earlier and was now fussing around, making sure he'd cleared all his junk off the bed so she could sleep in it.

"Do I look more human now?" Kady asked, startling her friend. He spun around and looked her over.

"Unfortunately, yeah." He nodded. Kady laughed and opened her gym bag before digging through it to find something to sleep in.

"I wish this week had never happened. I mean, I'm glad I got to see you and your mom again, and that I met Sterling – he was okay, but... everything else sucked royally." Kady commented as she tossed things out of her bag.

"The suckitude is going to continue for a while. At least until you hit them with whatever it is that you end up deciding to do." Danny pointed out.

"I know. Fuck, I hate this. I really, really hate this." Kady mused as she slumped down onto the bed. Danny sat beside her quietly.

"Look at it this way... at least you know who to hate. Before, you hated your mother for not telling you who your father was. Now you have a valid reason to be angry. Chris fucking Harris? You messed up in a past life or some shit to end up with him." Danny joked, shaking his head.

"If that's the case, my next life is going to be worse. I ain't done messing up in this one yet." Kadence laughed before she grabbed her sleepwear and went back to the bathroom to change.

That night, sleep came surprisingly easily to Kady. Her dreams were haunted by images of Mark, Sterling beating Mark, angry Chris Harris and that slap that her mother had delivered the last time they'd seen each other. To say she slept like a baby would be incorrect. She tossed and turned, crying out in her sleep several times. Danny knew her subconscious was probably catching up with her now so didn't bother trying to wake her. It had to happen and she'd need all the sleep she could get tohelp her through the next few days.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Lily stood under the steaming hot water in the shower, washing out the conditioner she had massaged into her hair two minutes earlier. People say showers or baths are relaxing and can soothe tensions, but for her it was only barely working. The strange feeling of knowing that Chris - the Chris Harris whom she detested more than anyone on the planet – was in the room next door to hers, and also knowing that her daughter officially wanted her to get out of her life... it was all too much for her to bear. Lily burst into tears and leaned back against the wall of the shower; her tears becoming indistinct from the water that mixed with the soap suds of the conditioner.

She closed her eyes to keep the water from getting in and felt around for the taps and promptly turned the shower off. She stepped out from behind the shower curtain and onto the rug; shivering at the change in temperature against her skin and reached for the towel, wrapping the soft material around her body. Lily's cries had turned into soft sobs, like they always did when she couldn't hold her pain in any longer. Always had she resisted crying in public or even aloud, for fear of getting unwanted attention even though now she was alone in a stupid motel. She then wrapped another towel around her hair and looked in the mirror – the woman staring back at her appeared at least ten years older than she really was. Kady had successfully sucked the life out of Lily at least twenty times over, and physically it was showing.

"Damn it, Kady..." Lily whispered and walked out of the bathroom.

The dim lighting reflected her dark, depressed state of mind and she flopped down on her bed, letting the built up in her lungs escape. The quietness of the room was then quickly destroyed when a sudden, loud, yet muffled eruption of music came blaring from the room next to hers, which she knew to be Chris'. The walls were paper thin and so it didn't make much difference to her; and she rolled her eyes and groaned. One thing that could automatically tell that Kady was Chris' daughter – their love of insane music pumped up to top volume, with no regard for who or what was disturbed in the process. He must have turned the television up as far as it would go without breaking it.

"Damn it, Chris..."

With no more energy to do anything; Lily remained lying on the bed wrapped in only her towel, but managed to reach up and grab a nice soft pillow and pressed it to her head, making a mental note to kill Chris as soon as they decided on how to get Kady back. The pillow did absolutely nothing to drown out the heavy music, though finally fatigue had set in to the point where she did not give a damn anymore. Her wet hair clung to her face and neck, creating an itching sensation which forced her to sit up just enough. She twirled her hair and pouted her lips, her mind wandering to different things.

Mainly, the thought that perhaps none of this was a mistake to begin with... after four days of having Chris back in their lives (very reluctantly), she noticed how there was already a difference in Kady. There was a passion there that for years Lily believed to be lost, or worse... dead... in her daughter, but from the looks and sounds of her confrontation with her father that night, there was still a fire in Kady that burned when it came to Chris. That could only mean one thing... that she cared. Or at least, that's what Lily wanted to believe.

But, for now, the blaring sound of that music was pounding her head like a sledgehammer, and she sat up.

"CHRIS!" she screamed as loudly as she could. She waited a few seconds but got no reply and so she stood up.

Realizingthat she still only had a relatively thin piece of material that covered her body, Lily jumped across her bed to her small suitcase that lay wide open on the other side and knelt down. As she went through it to find something to put on, someone started banging on her door and she stood back up straight, just able to keep the towel around her as the door burst open and in stormed, looking extremely pissed off... Sterling?

"TURN THAT GOD DAMN MUSIC—" he started, but stopped and his jaw dropped upon seeing a barely covered up Lily Myers screaming and grabbing at some random items of clothing, trying to cover herself. All he could see was the outline of her slender shape, all the other parts were pretty much covered as they should be and, for a brief second, he simply stood there gaping.

"Okay," he added, embarrassment hitting him now. "Wrong room..."

"WHAT THE HELL? GET OUT!" Lily screamed, totally humiliated and wanted so badly to throw something at the gawking young man in front of her, but to do so would risk even further embarrassment. Sterling shook himself back to reality and struggled to think of, let alone say, a coherent sentence. "What the fuck are you waiting for?"

"Sorry, I'm gone!" he replied, defensively, and couldn't help but stare for another second longer and then backed out of the room in fear that an irrational, naked woman could do more harm to him than ten wrestling opponents could do all at once. Lily managed to grab a hold of an ashtray that was on the side table and threw it as hard as she could in Sterling's direction but he closed the door and the glass item shattered on impact. On the other side of the door, Sterling needed a few moments before he could get a grasp on what just happened and, in total style, he smirked in remembering the sight of Lily rushing to keep herself covered.

"Damn..." he muttered with amusement.

No more than ten seconds later, he arrived at the right door from where the music was coming from that had disturbed his sleep to begin with, and seeing that it was right next door to Lily's room, the automatic assumption was that it was Chris Harris who was causing the disturbance. He slammed his hand against the door, ready to break it down.

"DAMN IT, HARRIS!" he yelled, ready to take the guy on if he continued to be a pain in the ass. "TURN DOWN THE MUSIC!"

A few seconds later, the volume of the music lowered significantly and then the door opened and Chris stepped forward, wearing jeans but minus his shirt; his hair was wet and so suggested that he too had just got out of the shower. More annoyed than anything, he leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms.

"What d'you want?" he huffed.

"A little fucking peace would be nice, given how many hours I spent driving your kid here," Sterling retorted, his attitude nothing more than a reflection of his personality. "Is that too much to ask or should we resort to taking this outside?"

"Whatever," was the reply. Chris was in no mood to argue and wanted to go bed; but from the look on Sterling's face, the kid wasn't gonna let it happen without getting what he wanted. "Fine. Done. I'll keep it down. Anything else?"

The exchange was short and to the point and neither of them had any intention of dealing with each other anymore than they had to. Sterling had little chance to reply when Lily's door flew open and she walked out, ready to give the bastard a piece of her mind but stopped she saw who he was talking too. Now she was wearing her pajama bottoms and a tank top, enough for her to be comfortable stepping outside in. The two men stared at her, and she returned the stare with more confusion. Lily then ran back inside her room and slammed the door shut, and they heard locking sounds from behind the door, indicating that she wasn't prepared to come out again.

"What's her problem?" Chris wondered, curiosity replacing hostility.

"Yeah, uh... I don't know. I kinda walked in on her, naked."

"What?"

"She was covered with a towel," Sterling added, seeing Chris tense a little. "But um... yeah. Got kinda awkward. Now I think she's too embarrassed to be in fifty feet of me. Don't know why though, she's got nothing to be ashamed of from what I could see—"

"Keep going and your head goes through the wall..." Chris warned before Sterling could finish his thoughts which were usually freakish and off-the-wall creepy anyway. The younger man laughed and stepped back.

"Sorry, sorry... I forgot you guys have a history or whatever. Anyway, I need some shut eye before I throw myself off a building from sleep deprivation." he turned to leave and only took two steps and looked over his shoulder. "Man, to think you willingly left her? Insane..." he added, a mischievous glint in his eyes and walked back to his room, leaving Chris to restrain himself from beating the hell out of him.

* * *

**A/N**: I know, a kind of longer chapter, but I figured you would enjoy more. Now please leave a review and I must now run before Phoenix catches and kills me. She's the one that is supposed to post the chapters, so I'm stepping on her toes (in heels!) by doing this. But please let us know what you think! Reviews are always welcome. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all. 

**A/N:** Well, Lizzie's busy writing at the moment so I, once again, get to post the chapter. This chapter contains a couple of twists and a lot more emotion. Hopefully, you'll all enjoy reading it just as much as I did before I posted it. (I'm hooked on my own story... isn't that weird?) Feel free to leave us a review to let us know what you think. Thanks. **_Phoenix_**

**_

* * *

_**

The next morning, Kady woke slowly and rolled over to see if Danny was still sleeping. His bed was empty. He was a fitness freak and would actually force himself to get up early and go for a run around the neighborhood before anyone else was awake. Having one of the neighbors see him would be strange as he didn't generally look much like a goth in the mornings. They'd almost be able to mistake him for a completely different person. Kady had always found this amusing but Danny could never work out why.

Kady dragged herself out of bed and dug through her gym bag, looking for a certain outfit to wear today. Once she'd found it, she wandered into the bathroom and locked herself in for a quiet shower. She let the hot water flow over her and remembered the happenings from the previous night – the anger, the betrayal. Her cheek still stung from where her mother had hit her and she idly played her fingertips over it. She wasn't sure what this new day was going to bring but she hoped it would be sufficiently empty of Chris and her mother. She wasn't sure how much of them ganging up on her she could take. She certainly wasn't used to it, after so long without her father there.

Once she was showered and dressed, she made her way out to the kitchen, wondering if Jenna was up yet. If she wasn't, Kady figured she'd make breakfast for the three of them as a way to say thank you. Stopping in front of the fridge, Kady spotted a note stuck to the door. She tugged it out from under the magnet and read it.

'Kady,

I got called into the diner early, someone didn't turn up. Danny says he'll meet you there. Breakfast's on me.

Jenna.'

"Excellent. Free food." Kady decided, dropping the note on the bench and grabbing her bag. She headed out through the back door, making sure it locked behind her.

When she got to the diner, she looked through the windows to see what the crowd was like. A small smirk formed on her lips as she spotted Sterling sitting alone at the same table he'd sat at the previous night. The bell above the door jingled as she walked into the diner. A few people looked up but once they realized it was just the freaky looking young woman, they all turned away – all except Sterling. Kady couldn't read the look on his face but, as she got closer, she noted that a wry, amused smile had formed on his lips. She walked over to the table and stopped just in front of him and remained standing.

"I'm almost afraid to ask," she joked with mock concern. Sterling remained placid.

"How is it that no one cares what you look like but they're all still staying clear of me?" he wondered. Kady sighed and slipped into the seat across from him, realizing that obviously whatever he was contemplating in that twisted, mangled mind of his – it wasn't going to be too easy to pry out of him.

"I think it's the tattoos, dude," she replied. "Nothing screams 'Spawn of Satan' like those ink patterns."

"And you're what? Little Orphan Annie?"

"If anything, I'd be her evil twin. But yeah it sure as hell feels like it right now…" Kady commented, dejectedly. He couldn't miss the pains of hurt and betrayal this kid was experiencing, and by her parents too… being that he came from a pretty good, stable environment, he wasn't going to say that he understood what she was going through.

"So I'm thinking your still harboring your freakishly evil desires to get hellish revenge on your parents?" Sterling guessed with remarkable accuracy, taking Kady by surprise.

"How did you—"

"Trust me, kid, if my parents pulled the shit on me that your folks did last night… let's just say I'd be making them hurt as much as they did me."

"I thought you had a good relationship with your parents," she remembered back to one of their conversations while they were still on their way to Kentucky. He shrugged.

"I do. Just throwing that out there as a hypothetical is all. And I'm guessing that I'm right?"

Kady nodded and looked around the diner – there was still no sign of Danny, though Jenna was behind the counter now, serving some customers. She was feeling better since Danny had suggested the idea of how to get back at those two pitiful excuses for human beings that had the nerve to call themselves her parents, but still – she didn't want to have to face them again, not today. No kid should have to deal with these issues, and it was not like Kady couldn't handle them but it didn't seem worth it to her anymore. Seeing the depression creep back to her face, Sterling mentally toyed with an idea that could make her feel a little better. Kady sat up straight when she noticed that same sly smile come back to him.

"Okay, are you gonna tell me what's going on inside that demented thing of a brain of yours? Or shall we revert to 'twenty questions'?"

"As much as I'd find it highly amusing to have you trying to get into the fucked up world inside my head, I was just thinking… something that might make you feel better. Something that happened to me last night…"

"Is this suitable for young, delicate ears such as mine?"

"You know, that's almost funny enough to make me laugh."

"Screw you," she spat back. Sterling smirked.

"Nah, sweetheart, I don't like 'em that young… too underdone if you know what I mean." His smart ass attitude was not what she needed now and the hardened stare she directed at him was a testament to that. "Well I can safely say that while you're around me, your mom won't come within fifty feet of you."

"Really?" Kady's enthusiasm was genuine to hear of the possibility of just hanging around with this guy, which she could live with; she wouldn't have to see her mother. "No kidding?"

"No shit."

"Wait… you didn't…"

Sterling raised an eyebrow. "No, I didn't hurt your mom, Kady. Relax."

Kady scowled and mentally kicked herself for allowing her apprehension to show through, though it definitely surprised her with her natural reaction to the possibility that Lily might have been in trouble. Knowing this guy, especially, that idea wasn't as far fetched as some may think. "Then what is it?"

"I'm not sure what humiliated her more. Me walking in on her while she was practically naked, or her thinking I'd told Chris what had happened… which, in fact, I had."

Kady felt like she had been punched in the chest and had the wind knocked right out of her, the reality of what he'd said didn't quite sink in and she started to wonder if he was intentionally dragging this out for the hell of it. "Explain, please."

"I'm staying at the same motel as them, purely by coincidence. I'd just about gotten to sleep when some moron starts blaring music, clearly as loud as the volume control would allow. So, I get out of bed and throw my clothes back on before going and knocking down the door of the room next to me. I got the wrong room but had a pleasant time of it. Your mother sports a towel very well." Sterling smirked. Kady grimaced.

"My mother's room... her practically naked. Dude, that's just gross! But where does Chris fit into this?" She mused, trying to get the idea of her mother and Sterling interacting out of her head.

"Well, once I'd left your mother's room, I found the moron's room and banged on their door. It was Chris. Your mom came out of her room, dressed, took one look at us and disappeared back inside and locked the door. I told Chris what had happened and I think he was about ready to beat the hell out of me after that. Good thing I made my exit when I did." Sterling laughed slightly.

"I really feel sorry for you, seeing my mother like that." Kady offered halfheartedly.

"Oh, no need, I assure you." Sterling teased, seeing how uncomfortable the idea made Kady.

"I thought you were trying to cheer me up?" She pointed out. Sterling took one look at her and shook his head.

"I was merely trying to amuse you. Cheering people up isn't exactly my thing."

"Oh gee, I hadn't noticed! If anything you've just depressed me more, asshole. Damn... can't get that image of you and mom out of my head..." she lightly tapped the side of her head with her first, trying to physically knock the 'horrifying' images out.

"Trust me, neither can I..." he taunted further and Kady jerked her leg forward until her foot connected with his shin, under the table.

"OWW! Fuck! What was that for?"

"For being a sick bastard!"

Sterling was trapped; he couldn't return the 'favor' being that she was only a child, and worse being that she's a very disturbed child. But nonetheless, she did attempt physical harm on him and so she must get what's coming to her. Out of the corner of his eye, something caught his attention outside and he tore his eyes away from the sullen girl and saw Lily and Chris making their way to the diner. A perfect opportunity presented itself to him and an idea was formulating. Kady hadn't known him long, but long enough to know when something was occupying his thoughts which meant it had to be sick, dark, gross... a combination of all three. Or just plain stupid.

"What now?"

"We got company..." he made a quick gesture, indicating something over her shoulder and Kady turned back enough to see out the window, and groaned. Her mother and... father... were quickly approaching the diner.

"I really gotta find a new place to hangout," she told him. "I should know better!"

"Now I do have something that actually might cheer you up for real. Watch what happens when your mom sees me."

Deciding to play along, the curiosity setting in, Kady shifted in her seat to look behind her at the entrance of the diner. A second later, the door opened and Chris stepped in first – right away he spotted Kady and Sterling at the table they were at the day before. The two people whom were both stepping on his last nerve looked as if they were conspiring or something. He stood aside to let Lily through.

"Thanks," she told him quietly as he held the door open for her. "I don't wanna take too long, Chris, we really gotta find Kady..."

"We don't have to look far..."

Lily frowned and turned to see what he was staring at, and paled at the sight of Sterling who winked in her direction. Kady seemed amused by all this, too. With no more words said, Lily turned on her heels and shoved past Chris and ran out of the diner with the intention of locking herself in her motel room for the rest of the day. Or at least until Chris could get Kady away from that damn tattooed freak. Chris stared after her, shaking his head in disbelief at what happened, and looked back at his daughter and Sterling. They were laughing, Kady quite hysterically, at the scene - obviously happy and basking in the glory of Lily's humiliation.

"Am I missing the joke?" he asked of them upon reaching their table. "What's so funny about Lily running out of here, practically in tears?"

"Nothing more than the powerful effect I seem to have on her," Sterling told him, clouded in an air of arrogance that neither Chris or Kady could tell was real or not. Probably was.

"I'm so proud you take such happiness in glorifying another person's embarrassment, especially your own mother's." Chris told Kady, who was still calming down after laughing so hard.

"Oh, what? You gonna make me apologize to her?" Kady replied, defiantly. Sterling was right; seeing her mother turn as white as a ghost and bolt from the diner faster than lightning had made her feel a lot better. And her smug appearance was telling Chris of that fact.

"Why beat a dead horse?" he said with an equal force of sarcasm.

"Wow you're finally seeing the light!"

"So you think, little girl."

"What's with calling me 'little girl'?"

"Because that's what you are."

By his nature, Sterling was finding some sort of sick amusement in this crazy, dysfunctional family situation and for those amusement purposes, of course, he was willing to exploit it - and get his revenge on Kady for kicking him earlier.

"Care to join us?" he offered. Kady's head snapped round so that she was facing Sterling, the dark glare in her eyes telling him that she was not impressed by this idea.

"Uh... sure. Why not." Chris decided, being somewhat wary. They were up to something, he could tell. The question was, what was it? Sterling pushed out a chair for Chris with his foot, watching the older man's hesitance. Kady was still glaring at him and he smirked at her in reply.

"So, Punky Brewster, think you can get us some service?" He asked her nonchalantly.

Kady sighed and turned her attention to the counter, wondering if Jenna was free. Seeing that she was, Kady waved a hand in her direction. Jenna was somewhat surprised to see Kady sitting with Chris. She'd noticed that Kady had gone straight to the table that Sterling was sitting at earlier and had figured she'd be safe enough there. Now, though, she wasn't so sure. Chris Harris had always had a somewhat volatile temper, even in high school. Jenna hoped that Kady would behave herself, so as not to draw the wrath of Chris.

"Morning all. What are we having?" Jenna asked politely.

After they'd all ordered, the silence that descended on the table got to the point of being painful. Sterling was amusing himself by staring out the window, with sneaking glances at Kady who was sitting as far away from her father as she could get without falling off her seat. He briefly wondered if asking Chris to sit with them had been a good idea but then remembered about the kick she'd given him earlier. Her discomfort was easing his pain... in a way.

"So... Jarrett gave you some time off, huh?" Sterling asked Chris, trying to break the tension and his own boredom.

"In a way, yeah." Chris nodded, knowing Jarrett was going to chew him out about being gone so long as soon as he got back.

"You did a runner like Kady." Sterling surmised, receiving a nod of agreement from Chris.

"Didn't really have time to discuss options for time off. Lily was convinced that Kady was in trouble." He shrugged.

"And I would've been if Sterling hadn't been around. Amazing what having a guy around does to change your life." Kady put in, aiming the dig at her father's lack of presence in her life.

"No kidding. If I'd been around, I would've taken you over my knee and spanked the hell out of you if you'd tried something like this." Chris replied, not letting her push his buttons.

"Whoa, no stories of possible child abuse, man. I'm about to eat." Sterling butted back into the conversation, playing peacemaker for some weird reason.

Silence once again forced itself upon them but soon they had an excuse for it – their breakfast arrived and they each began to eat. Sterling ate quickly, knowing he had somewhere to be later that day and a lengthy drive to get there. Once he was finished, he got to his feet and surveyed the two people in front of him.

"I don't mean to dine and dash but I've got a show to get to. Nice meeting you, Kady. Chris... uh... it's been real, man. Bye." He waved as he began to walk away.

"Hey, wait a second! You can't leave!" Kady called out. Sterling stopped and turned back to look at her.

"You're right." He nodded as he stepped back towards the table. Once he was there, he pulled his wallet from his pocket and slipped a couple of bills out of it. "I forgot to pay. All good now?"

"No. This is so very not good." Kady told him seriously.

"Sorry, kid, nothing I can do. I already missed one show for you, can't justify missing another." He told her before walking away. He didn't look back as he left the diner and made his way to his car.

"I can't believe this. Asshole." Kady muttered as she watched him drive out of the diner's parking lot.

"Chill out. He has a job to do." Chris stated.

"Oh, yeah, just like you did when you walked out on me and mom, huh? Hope his one doesn't last thirteen years." Kady retorted. Chris put down his cutlery and looked squarely at his daughter.

"Go ahead, get it all out because I'm not going anywhere now. Whether you want to accept it or not, I'm your father and I have a right to be part of your life, no matter how much you hate me." He told her seriously. Kady put down her own cutlery and pushed her chair back.

"You may be here. Doesn't mean I have to be." She told him as she stood up.

"Kady, sit down, damn it." Chris ordered.

Kady stood staring at him for a moment before spotting Danny sitting at the counter. He saw her and did a quick thumbs up sign, reminding her of the plan they'd come up with the night before. Groaning, Kady sat back down and picked up her cutlery, deciding to distract herself by finishing up her breakfast. Chris leaned back and watched her, the two not communicating in anyway for several minutes of painfully awkward, dull silence. He always had wondered how she had turned out, and now that he knew, it wasn't so easy to imagine being back in her life. He thought it would be harder dealing with Lily than it would be dealing with Kady, though he never thought she turned out like this. But the opposite had occured – he was getting along as well as he could with Lily, and with Kady things had gone beyond hell.

"You're not gonna make this easy, are you?" he stated the obvious.

"Why should I?" was her surprisingly tame response. "You never made my life easy. I've never had a father before, forgive me if I seem a little rusty on my affection skills."

"Right, and—" Chris paused before he rushed into engaging her in another battle. Kady was a smart girl, he knew that much already, as he always suspected she would be. He looked out the window, and at the motel not too far in the distance, where presumably Lily was still hiding from the torments of Sterling. Something had to be done about this before it got even more out of control, if that was at all possible. "Kady, this isn't all my fault you know... I did try to find you."

"Yeah, for what, a month? Mom said..." she scoffed, accepting the bullshit for what it was worth.

"And you believe her? After all those lies you were complaining that she fed you over the years, you believe her on the idea that I never cared about you or thought about you?"

"The only difference, jackass, is that I have thirteen years of not knowing you as proof that she wasn't lying about that." Kady tensed up. The plan was to play nice with him, but Chris was too infuriating! Maybe she was getting in over her head – maybe she and Danny needed to sit down and work out the plans in a bit more detail, because already she felt like she was losing control.

"Right. Whatever she said... Kady, it's not true. I never stopped loving you."

"Whatever. You never proved you loved me either. Maybe that's why I'm so fucked up now, right?"

"Nah, you're fucked up because Lily was too weak to set the rules. She's pathetic. I tried to find you, Kadence. It's true, I've got all the documents to prove it – she kept me from you. She's the liar, Kady, not me."

She stared at him with total contempt and disbelief for this blatant attempt to get her to accept this crap and absolve him completely of responsibility. What, did he think she'd jump into his arms and start calling him 'daddy' and crying how much she loves him and never wants him to leave? Did he really think she was that stupid?

"That's complete bullshit!" she snapped. "You left me and mom, not the other way around. It's not like you gave her a choice, anyway! What, like none of this is your fault? You have the nerve to blame mom for everything, calling her the liar when you have so not even proven to me that you're not? Fuck you, I've known her all my life so I know when she's lying to me. You, I've known less than a God damn week and I don't know anything about you. I don't wanna know anything about you. At least mom never left me, you sick fuck." This was not going to plan for Kady at all, but again he was pushing her to her limits. Little did she know that it was his intention to do so for a soon-to-be obvious purpose. "Don't you dare start that 'it's-none-of-my-fault' crap, because I know for a damn fact that it is ALL YOUR FAULT! I don't give a damn about you, or mom... I don't care anymore!"

Chris calmly listened to her strong words, and at the moment Kady finished she instantly regretted that little rant. Too emotional. She let him suck her in to this again, and that was exactly what Danny had told her to avoid at all costs, at least in the beginning. He told her to always be in control of her emotions, because that's the only way she could win.

"You know, for as smart as you are Kady, you really can be totally blind sometimes..."

"What?"

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't care about your mom."

Kady's jaw dropped. No he didn't... Chris had played out a completely, wonderfully executed mind game with her. "What?" she repeated.

"You heard me," he replied, his voice still monotone; calm. "You see, from what I just heard you've completely contradicted yourself, Kady. You care about Lily a lot, I know. And you can hate me as much as you want but, if you do something that would hurt her then I know you would regret it. You'd hate yourself for it. And I stick by what I said; I'm not leaving. Now – look me in the eyes and tell me you really hate your mother, and mean it. If you can, I'll stand up and walk out of this diner right now and you'll never see me again."

At first registering those last words, Kady's heart gave a leap of joy in her chest, but the feeling was extremely short lived. For once in a very long time, she was almost speechless from what he'd just done. Determined not to let him beat her, Kady inhaled deeply and looked at him as coldly as she could.

"I really hate my mother," she told him, her voice wavering a little. "Both of you can rot in hell for all I care. You can leave now. Your mind game didn't work, Chris."

He smiled and shook his head, stubbornly. "You know what? I don't believe you. And I know you don't either."

Kady usually had a quick comeback for practically every insult, or some smart ass comments that were thrown away, but this one left her completely stunned. Chris had taken a huge risk with her then, but it proved to pay off because she was visibly thinking of his words. He stood up and dropped a few dollar notes on the table, having finished what he came here to do, and stepped away from the table.

"Think about it," he told her and walked off, leaving his daughter sitting alone at the table, dumbfounded. After a few moments, Kady let out a small, frustrated scream. Not long after that, Danny slid into the seat across the table from her and placed his plate down in front of him.

"So... what was that all about?" Danny asked, raising some scrambled eggs to his mouth.

"He played me! The asshole actually fucking played me." Kady admitted, trying to work out how it had happened.

"Say what?" Danny wondered. He'd never before seen anyone capable of getting around Kady's brains, or quick witted mouth.

"He worked me around and practically made me admit that I don't hate my mother." Kady replied, slowly realizing that her task of playing her parents might not be so easy.

"I'm doomed. There's no way he'll fall for me playing nice with him." She figured.

"So don't play nice with him." Danny shrugged.

"What am I supposed to do, then? Just let him get away with this?" Kady asked, sure that that wouldn't happen, no matter what Danny said.

"Of course not. He's got you to the point of saying you don't hate Lily. Fine. Go with that. Next time you talk to him, tell him he's right, you don't hate your mother. Before that, though, you need to work on Lily." Danny figured.

"What is it with guys being fucking cryptic today? I've already had to deal with that bullshit from Sterling, please just come right out and say what you mean." Kady pleaded slightly.

"Well, the way I see it, you have the perfect situation in which to play Chris and Lily off against each other. Play nice with Lily, tell her you don't hate her or whatever, right. Then, tell her what Chris said about her. I think I heard the word 'pathetic' mentioned somewhere in his rantings, am I right?" Danny explained.

"Yeah. He said she was weak and pathetic. Basically said she was the one that kept me away from him and that he has tried to find me, over the years." Kady mused, wondering if it was true, if he had tried to find her.

"So, tell Lily that. Tell her how horrible Chris thinks she is. She'll go have it out with him which will solve your problem of them ganging up on you. They'll be at each other's throats so much they'll leave you alone. Simple." Danny smirked. Kady thought it over.

"That might be crazy enough to work. I guess any thing's worth a try."

"What are you two conspiring about?" Jenna asked, coming to clear up the empty plates from the table, as well as take the money that Sterling and Chris had left.

"Nothing, mom. We were just talking about how great it is to see Kady's folks getting along so well." Danny told his mother, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Sure, son. And you're on the honor roll." Jenna retorted, knowing he was lying.

"Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright." Kady smiled sweetly at Jenna, hoping that she'd be believed more than Danny.

"Kady, when you two put your heads together, things usually end up worse than what they were to start with. Whatever it is that you're planning, you'd better be ready to face the consequences of your actions." Jenna warned before walking away.

"Consequences... whatever. Deal with them when they happen." Kady figured. Danny nodded and continued eating.

"I can't believe Sterling bailed and left me with Chris." Kady sighed.

"Classic. What'd you do to him?" Danny wondered. Kady shrugged, thinking over everything that had happened so far this morning.

"I guess it was to get me back because I kicked him. But he deserved it! The sick fuck was talking about seeing my mother in nothing but a towel. He enjoyed it a little too much, if you ask me." Kady reasoned. Danny almost choked on his food.

"I'm sure there's an interesting story there." He laughed.

"What was more interesting was watching mom freak and run out of here when she saw Sterling earlier. It was priceless." Kady replied, actually giggling slightly at the memory.

"Aw, man. Sorry I missed it." Danny groaned.

"Did you have a good run?" Kady asked, remembering why he hadn't been with her when it happened.

"Yeah, not bad. Got chased by Mr Jenkins' dog for about a block. He should muzzle that thing."

"Or you should give up running. What's the point, anyway?" Kady pointed out.

"To stay fit. As soon as I hit 18, I'm signing up to the nearest wrestling school and training my ass off." Danny reminded.

"Weak, dude. Why the hell would you want to be a wrestler? They're a mental breed."

"What, even Sterling?" Danny asked, an eyebrow raised. She didn't want to admit that he made a good point.

"Yes, even Sterling. He and Chris are both very good examples of how badly mental wrestlers are." She stated. Danny shook his head.

"Sterling seemed more real than Chris." He pointed out.

"Still mental." Kady retorted with a smirk. Danny laughed and gave up on arguing about it. The notion he had given her was that while Chris and Lily were somewhat peacefully coexisting to work together for the benefit of their daughter, Kady and the set plan of revenge was screwed. And what her best friend suggested made sense now that she thought about it – her parents had spent all her life hating each other, so it shouldn't be too difficult to shatter.

"So is there any chance that you'd ever forgive your dad?" Danny asked, casually. Because he had never seen Kady with such hate and aggressiveness to anyone, including her mother, he didn't know what she was capable of doing at this point. Having her father, whom she had never met, suddenly walk into her life trying to make it as if he had ever right to parent her now really must have screed her up even further if that was possible. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what she was thinking as he sat there and watched her stare out the window.

"No," she stated. "The screwed up thing is, I've always wanted to know who he was... now I wish he'd get the hell out of my life."

"Good. Just making sure you weren't turning soft on me."

"Now, why would you think that?"

"Because for once you actually seem to be thinking pretty damn hard. Anything you wanna talk about?"

Kady sipped her drink sighed, wishing none of this had happened. Why couldn't they simply let her be the dark, moody freak that she wanted to be and leave her alone? Whatever issues her mother and Chris had to sort out with each other; why did they have to make this about her? It was all about her, as we all know, but in her screwed up head, it didn't need to be. Chris had already practically got her to admit that she does have some level of care for Lily... that only proved to her that he wasn't as stupid as she thought him to be, and that he probably would be able to see right through anything she tried to pull. A superior force was what she was dealing with... at least in her head.

"No, I got it." She stood up.

"Where are you going now?"

"I better find mom before Chris gets to her again..."

At the motel, Chris had been there to see if Lily was okay and to let her know what had just happened with Kady. Needless to say, she was shocked at the notion that her daughter spared some sort of spot in her almost blackened heart for care for her mother. After years of not receiving a lot of love from Kady, Lily had almost given up on ever expecting reciprocated love that any mother would want from their child.

"It just seems so... unreal, ya know?" she commented, closing the door behind her and stepped out into the sunlight where he had been waiting for her while she grabbed her purse. "In close to three years I haven't seen anything that could resemble love, especially towards me."

"She's been that bad, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it."

"Well, I'd sure as hell like to," Chris told her, seriously, with some hope that she'd finally relent. They were okay, so far, but they still hadn't discussed her being comfortable with him being back in Kady's life; it wasn't a taboo subject, but they hadn't got around to speaking about it. "I got a lot to make up to her, Lil. And I don't wanna drag you into court to be able to do so."

"It's not that simple, Chris. You know it isn't. I can't make Kady want to spend time with you, and I certainly can't make her love you – no one can," she explained, with a touch of sadness. "She's been so angry at you for years, it'd be hard for her to get over it in just a few days."

"I know that part. I just can't miss probably the last opportunity I'll ever have to get to know her, you understand that, right?" he approached her, deadly serious about his intentions for Kady.

Lily gazed out across the road and around at the surrounding environment, contemplating what that could mean for her. On a professional level she could probably coexist with him quite well... but on a personal level? The only reason they weren't killing each other now was because both were focused on maintaining peace for the sake of bringing Kady back and sorting out the issues with her. Chris had done in a few days, more than Lily had achieved in years of being with Kady, and that was to reach her.

"Just think about it," he added. "That's all I'm asking."

Lily nodded, making a non-verbal agreement to do so, which satisfied Chris to the point where he dropped the subject completely, and it was a good thing too because it was then that Kady came around the corner and stopped at the sight of her parents hanging outside together, not yelling or screaming... just standing outside and talking. It was kind of weird. Lily, seeing Chris staring over her shoulder, looked back and saw Kady staring back. She approached her parents with caution and stopped on one of the front steps that lead to the manager's office of the crappy motel.

"Hey," Lily greeted her softly, not daring to reach out to her. "You okay, baby?"

"I'm fine," Kady replied, calmly. "What's going—" she stopped when she looked at Chris, who was smirking at her and then she realized. The bastard had already told Lily what had happened in the diner, and God knows what else he said about her since they parted ways. She could feel the blood rushing from her face as the full impact of the fact that once again Chris had wrecked her attempt to get revenge on them. So she did the only thing a girl in her position could do – she let out a piercing scream; Lily and Chris both had to cover their ears until she was done.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Kady yelled, storming down the steps and over to Chris, shoving him quite violently. "What the hell did you do?"

"Just having an interesting talk with your mom," he replied, knowing full well that she'd think it would have something to do with what he had done to her in the diner.

"You know what he said about you in the diner?" Kady asked Lily, incredulously. Her mother nodded.

"I know what he was trying to do. Things didn't turn out like you hoped, did they?" she responded.

Chris rolled his eyes and acted with total non-commitment, looking back at Lily who was actually smiling (a little smile), at this. She couldn't believe he was right; he had fully caught Kady out in her act. What act that was, she wasn't quite sure...

"Kady, we both know the stunts you're trying to pull," he said. "And after you practically admitted that you're still human and do care about Lily—"

"I never said that!"

"You didn't have to," Chris snapped and again blocked her attempt to hit him, catching her arm and twisting it behind her back very lightly, just enough to keep her still.

"OWW!"

"Shut up; quit being such a drama queen, I'm not hurting you and you know it."

Kady then tried to stomp on his foot, but instead Chris lifted her off the ground with ease and carried her, while she yelled and kicked at him, over to the steps again and set her down on the top one.

"If I let you go, will you calm down?"

"Let me go, asshole!" Kady defied, and this time tried to scratch at him but Chris was too strong for her.

"Uh, uh! Play nice."

"Drop dead!"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"I'd love it!"

He dropped her back to her feet but she tripped and went crashing to the ground, glaring at him in disbelief. Her cold, icy eyes locked with his in what turned out to be a bit of a stare down between them; Chris had had enough of her bullshit and was now prepared to meet her on her level, since that was apparently the only way that anyone could reach her. Lily had always refused to get down onto the level which Kady was at, but Chris had no problem with it if it got them results. He was going to beat her at her own game.

"You wanna play mind games with us, Kady, you go right on ahead. You're dealing with the master of manipulation; nothing surprises me anymore."

Lily joined them at this point and stood next to Chris; both of them looking down at Kady, and neither making a move to help her up since she kept insisting that she didn't need either of them. Kady smirked, realizing the power she held that neither of them seemed to know about. She slowly lifted herself on her hands and slung out one leg, catching the back of Chris' ankles. She turned quickly, her momentum making Chris stumble. As he fell, he reached out for something stable to hold onto, only to end up pulling Lily down with him. Now, Kady stood staring down at her parents who were busily trying to untangle themselves from each other. The look on her face told Chris that she was somewhat proud of her actions.

"Clever. Real clever." He stated as he made sure he wasn't actually hurt.

"I'm so sick of this. Aren't you two? I mean, we're getting nowhere here. Why don't we all head back to Florida and work on things there?" Lily mused as she pushed Chris away from her slightly.

"Let's not and say we did." Kady replied with a nonchalant shrug. Chris scoffed.

"Scared?" He teased. Kady glared at him.

"No. I just hate Florida. I belong here in Kentucky." She reasoned.

"Home is where the heart is." Chris smiled, knowing he was still annoying her.

"That would require a person to actually have a heart. Neither of you seem to, so why would I?" Kady shot back seriously.

"Oh, please. Kady, you need to shut the hell up and get over yourself." Chris stated flatly. He was sick of her trying to remind them that everything was their fault. Kady glared at him for a moment before sighing and turning away. She didn't look back as she walked away from her parents, both of them still sitting on the ground.

"Smooth move." Lily shook her head before getting to her feet to go after Kady.

She was determined to get things sorted to the point where they could return to Florida and Lily could go back to work. She was almost positive that she was going to be fired but, she held out hope that it wouldn't happen. Chris watched both of them go, shaking his head at the fact that, once again, Kady was running from her problems. That trait reminded him slightly of Lily when she was younger.

"Kady, honey, wait." Lily called out to her daughter. Kady spared a slight glance over her shoulder, almost groaning aloud.

"Leave me alone. Go back to Florida without me, whatever. I don't give a damn." Kady called back, not slowing down at all.

She walked straight out across a road, not bothering to check for traffic. Unfortunately, Lily didn't make it across as safely. As she stepped out, a blue sedan came speeding up the road and straight into Lily, tires screaming with the pressure of the brakes being applied. Kady spun around and screamed just as the car came to a stop and Lily slid off the bonnet and onto the road.

People around her were gasping and shouting for 911 to be called, but Kady stood there, staring in horror and shock at seeing the smashed windshield, and a sickening amount of blood that was now flowing like rivers from gapping wounds that now scarred Lily's face and other parts of her body. Her clothes were torn, and quickly was her blond hair becoming dyed a deep red, the blood soaking in. The scene became chaotic in a matter of seconds and someone helped the hysterical young driver out while others surrounded the seemingly lifeless body of Lily Myers. Kady could not bring herself to register what happened, let alone cry or do anything as a reaction. She just stood there, staring and trembling.

At that time, Chris came tearing around the corner, having heard the screeching and screaming; the chaos resonating for a long way in every direction. He stopped at the side of the road, seeing a whole group of people gathering around a car which now had a huge dent in it, and the windshield was completely shattered. Blood was everywhere. It was truly the most horrifically sickening sight he had ever seen, and he had been in some pretty brutal matches. But this was on a whole new level, for the one reason that this was reality.

Not being able to see who exactly was the victim, Chris looked over to the other side of the road, and saw his daughter standing there completely frozen, looking at the scene. Her expression was stoned in disbelief. He realized that Kady had seen the whole thing.

"Holy shit..." he whispered and snapped himself back to reality and ran across the road, maneuvering around people as they all went to get a better look at what happened. Sick bastards. When Chris got to Kady, she didn't notice him and still stared straight ahead, with no acknowledgment what so ever. He stood in front of her and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently.

"Kadence? Kady, baby?" he pleaded with her to come back to him, fearing that she was going into shock or something. Kady wasn't responding to him, so he lightly tapped her on her cheek. "KADY?"

That brought her out of it and she looked at him, and a solitary tear slid down her cheek, and she didn't even need to say anything. Despite very weak resistance from Kady at first, Chris pulled her to him and for the first time since she was ten months old, embraced his child. So shaken was Kady that she couldn't put up much of a fight and fell against him, slipping her arms around him and sobbing openly. The screams and yelling was still going on and he looked further around, remembering that Lily had gone after Kady only seconds ago. Chris' heart almost stopped completely. Where the hell was Lily?

"Kady?" he pulled back a little to look at her. "Kady, where's Lily? Where's your mother?"

"I... I didn't... I couldn't stop it..." Kady stammered and started hyperventilating. "I couldn't stop it... Chris, I—"

"Wait, wait... what?"

"I... she... so fast... it happened so fast!"

Kady's hysterics returned and Chris needed her to say nothing more, and this time without his encouragement, the girl hugged him and cried. He knew what had happened and looked back to the accident, and then down at his daughter, and then up again. Ambulances were fast approaching now as well as police cars; all around them people were crying or turning to others for support. Chris felt his knees almost giving out underneath him, but remained standing because he was holding onto his child. Nothing could stop the tears from him either, as it took Lily getting in an accident to get Kady back in his arms again? He placed a kiss on top of her head and whispered a few words of comfort to her as she cried.

"Fuck..." he breathed, not knowing how to react or what to do. "God damn it, Lily..."

* * *

**A/N2:** A shocking end to this chapter. Does Lily survive the accident? And how does Kady cope with it all? You'll have to read on to find out! (Cue Lizzie's evil laughter...) Leave a review to let us know what you think. As always, constructive criticism is accepted and flames will be used to toast marshmellows. Thanks. **_Phoenix_**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** Rockin' and rollin' right on in to the next chapter! Woohoo! Hello freaks, be warned this chapter gets super dooper emotional. This is quickly turning into an epic to write, and Phoenix and I have done soooo much writing together... I swear, it's like we exist in each other's minds. It's creepy... especially coz she's a NZer... Kiwi-fruit...Enjoy, munchkins…**_ Lizzie_**

****

* * *

As they stood there, the police and ambulance finally arrived. The cops started moving people away, trying to get a perimeter set up around the site of the accident. As the people slowly thinned out, Chris caught sight of Lily at last. What he saw shocked him to his core.

"Oh, god... no." He whispered, his grip on Kady, and reality, slowly loosening. Kady saw the paramedics moving in to tend to her mother and was determined she shouldn't be alone with strangers. She pulled away from her father and ran straight towards Lily. She was almost there when a police officer got in her way.

"Stay back, please, Miss." He ordered calmly.

"Fuck off! That's my mother!" Kady spat at him before shoving him aside and making her way to Lily. She knelt down next to her and gently took her mother's hand.

"Mom?" She whispered hesitantly, wondering about her mother's state of consciousness. One of the paramedics looked at her sympathetically.

"Sorry, kid. We're gonna need you to move back." He told her, just like the cop had.

"No. I'm not leaving her." Kady replied defiantly, trying to look anywhere but at the blood that was oozing from various parts of her mother.

"Look, as soon as we get her stabilized and into the ambulance, you can ride along, okay. But, for now, we really need you to move back. The longer it takes you to listen, the harder it is for us to help her." The medic explained to her.

Kady reluctantly released her mother's hand and stood up, stepping back slightly. It wasn't long before she felt Chris' arms around her again, pulling her further back. As soon as she was close enough, she leaned back and allowed her father to hold her again. In the back of her mind, Kady was remembering what she'd said to Chris earlier, about how much she would love him to drop dead. Seeing Lily, bleeding and broken, on the ground in front of her, she had to admit that she wouldn't want that for anyone else... not even Chris.

The tears were burning her eyes so she closed them tightly, willing it all away, wishing it hadn't happened. Maybe it was just a dream? She opened her eyes, slightly, to see if anything had changed. A sob escaped her as she realized that the scene in front of her was all too real. Chris tightened his hold on her and she turned in his arms so that she could bury her face in his chest. She'd never meant for this to happen... not in a million years.

"Hush, baby. It's gonna be okay. I'm here, I promise. I'm not going anywhere." Chris whispered softly to his daughter.

"It's your fault! You should never have tried to get into our lives! Everything was fine without you!" Kadence screamed at him, trying to push him away.

She didn't really blame him for this but, it was easier to have someone to hate. She was used to being angry... not to feeling so out of control and scared. Chris didn't let her go. Instead, he let her get her anger out as she pummeled her fists into his chest and continued blaming him. He knew where she was coming from with it and didn't take it personally... well, not really. At least he had her in his arms again, anyway.

"Hey, kid. You still want to ride along?" The paramedic called out to Kady once Lily was on a gurney being wheeled towards the ambulance.

"Is it okay for both of us to?" Chris wondered. The medic debated whether there'd be enough room before deciding that it would probably be easier to have the guy ride along too. That way, he could deal with the kid and let the medics do their jobs.

"Sure. Climb in." He told Chris with a decisive nod. Chris led Kady to the ambulance and watched as they loaded Lily in. Once that was done, he helped Kady climb in and followed after her.

Hours later, Chris was pacing the waiting room as Kady sat in one of the chairs, her knees pulled to her chest. They hadn't spoken a word since the doctor had told them that Lily needed surgery to fix some broken bones and to stitch up some of her wounds. The doctor had told Chris that it was unlikely that Lily would wake up anytime soon. Who knew if she had head injuries. All they could do was wait it out.

Kadence stretched her legs, moving into a more comfortable position before pulling her knees up again. Chris watched the movement from the corner of his eye and wondered what the hell he'd do if Lily never woke up. How would he take care of Kady who would, no doubt, be worse after this whole thing? He was praying, wishing, hoping and willing for Lily to be okay. He was pretty sure that the same thoughts were flowing through his daughter's mind. What would she do without Lily here to save her from him?

A small laugh almost escaped him but he turned it into a cough. The last thing he wanted was to make Kady genuinely angry at him right now. He walked over to the row of seats opposite her and slumped into one. The whole waiting process was probably the hardest part of all this. The longer they waited, the more sure Chris was that something had gone wrong on the operating table. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the doctor walking towards them. Kady saw him, though, and got to her feet, practically running up to him.

"Is she okay? What's happening?" Kady asked quickly as Chris got to his feet.

"She's about as okay as can be expected. Nothing went wrong during the operation. We've had to put pins in her left arm to hold the bone together, as well as stitch up multiple lacerations. All in all, it went quite well." The doctor explained.

"Can we see her?" Kady wondered hopefully.

"Not just yet. She's in recovery at the moment and probably won't be transferred to a ward until tomorrow sometime. We need to keep her under observation to see what her brain activity's doing. She took quite a nasty knock to her head." He replied. Kady wanted to kick him for sounding so condescending. Chris must've caught the tension rising in Kady because he put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently.

"Thanks, doc. We'll come back tomorrow, first thing." He told the doctor who nodded and walked away.

"Let go." Kady ordered, shaking herself free of Chris. Her clothes were covered in blood from kneeling down next to Lily earlier but she didn't care. All she wanted was to see her mother, to see if she was really still alive.

"I'll call Jenna and see if she can come get us. Stay put." Chris told her as he made his way over to the pay phones.

Kady watched him for a little while before looking around. The waiting room was almost empty. No one was paying her any attention. She wondered if she'd have any luck trying to find her mother on her own. Knowing she'd probably get into a lot of trouble for trying, she decided to go outside and get some air. She felt stifled, as if she was suffocating in here. Waiting until Chris had turned his back to her, Kady slipped out the doors and wandered away from the hospital a little way.

The tears once again stung at her eyes as the image of her mother bouncing off the car played through her mind. She needed to talk to someone... anyone other than Chris. Spotting a young couple sitting on a bench not far from her, she decided she'd chance it and walked over.

"Um... excuse me... would one of you have a cellphone I can borrow? My mother's been in an accident and I need to call someone." Kady told them, her voice wavering with emotion. The woman reached into her handbag and pulled out a cellphone, offering it to her kindly.

"Thank you, so much." Kady gushed as she accepted the phone. She quickly punched in Danny's cellphone number and walked away from the couple slightly, so she'd have a bit of privacy.

"Danny here. Talk if you must." Danny's familiar greeting met her ears soon after.

"Danny... something bad has happened." Kady told him, barely in control of her own voice.

"Kady? What's going on? Did you have another fight with Chris?" Danny wondered, suddenly worried about his friend.

"Worse. Mom... she's... fuck! She was following me... she got hit... I couldn't stop it, Danny, I couldn't." Kady sobbed, losing all semblance of control over the situation.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, I can't understand you. What happened to her?" Danny urged, knowing it had to be bad if Kady was calling him.

"She got hit by a car... it came out of nowhere. I... I... I don't know what to do." Kady continued to sob into the phone.

"Where are you? I'll be there as soon as I can." Danny told her, knowing she needed help. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on but if what he'd gathered so far was true, Kady wouldn't be in a very stable frame of mind.

"The hospital." Kady answered quietly, the sobs weakening her.

"I'm on my way. Sit tight." Danny replied quickly before ending the call. Kady hesitantly made her way back to the couple she'd borrowed the phone from and handed it back.

"Th... thank you." She stammered as the woman took it. The couple nodded, in shock at the mess of a person standing in front of them. It was then that Chris came running out the hospital doors, having noticed that Kady was gone.

"Kady! Damn it, girl. I tell you to stay put so you walk away? What the hell is wrong with you?" He fumed as he spotted her and jogged over.

"I... I needed some air." Kady told him. Chris softened slightly, seeing how upset she was.

"Come here." He offered, opening his arms to her. She shook her head and backed off.

"Jenna's on her way to pick us up. We'll go back to her place and get some rest, okay?" Chris explained his plan to her.

"No! I'm not leaving her! Trust you to want to walk away, now that things are hard!" Kady accused.

"Kady, there's nothing we can do. There's no reason for us to sit around here all day and all night. We'll come back in the morning, I promise." Chris tried again.

"You promise? Fuck you, Chris! Your promises don't mean a damn thing to me! My mother could die and you want to leave? Go, then. I don't need you here." Kady yelled, getting angry with the whole thing again. Chris ran his hands over his head and through his ponytail, wondering how the hell he was supposed to handle this situation. It didn't help him that the couple sitting on the bench were throwing accusing glances his way.

"What the hell do you want me to say, huh? I'd do anything to trade places with her, I would, but I can't. You're stuck with me, Kadence, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it." He told her firmly.

"Oh, there isn't, huh? I wouldn't count on that if I were you." Kady growled, hating him for standing there in front of her while her mother was laying in the hospital, effectively in a coma.

"What are you gonna do, kill me? This shit is getting us nowhere, Kady, and I'm sick of it. You can keep being angry at me, keep hating me, keep wishing me dead. It won't change the fact that I'm your father and I'm trying my best to prove myself to you and your mother. Neither of you have made it easy, thus far, and it's only getting worse now. Believe it or not, I care about Lily – always have and probably always will. This is eating me up inside because there's not a damn thing I can do to change it. I can't turn back time, I can't go back and stop that fucking car. All I can do is stand here and twiddle my thumbs while you stand there hating me. So, go ahead, hate me. I'm beyond caring about it now." Chris decided.

No one had ever tried so hard to get through to Kady like he had, and she knew it. Not even Lily had that much energy. But now, Chris felt like had done all he could and there was nothing left for him to prove, especially if Kady wasn't going to be receptive to it. There was only so much he could do.

"Then leave!" she shot back. "If you're beyond caring, just go!"

"And that's what you'd like, isn't it Kadence? For me to leave and prove you right?" he said. "I'm here for Lily as much as I am for you."

"She doesn't need you. We don't need you! For all my life we've gotten by without you—"

"See? It's the same fucking arguments over and over again! It's not going to work, Kady. Get that into your head." With each argument and each battle against Kady, Chris was growing more frustrated, understandably, but also he was losing any chance of getting through to her.

Another long day it was, and already they were both exhausted, so the fighting wasn't helping. But Kady was always going to be willing to put up the fight for as long as she felt was necessary. Her remarkable ability to throw together highly venomous insults and stand up and fight in even the most dire, stressful situations like this one, could be considered a dark gift. Even with her mother almost dead, she wasn't going to let Chris in…

"It's your fault!" she reaffirmed the hurtful words.

"It's no one's fault," Chris countered, immediately catching his anger before it exploded, and forced him self to settle down. "Kady don't spend your time laying blame… on me, or anyone. Because you know something? It's not going to change the fact that I love you, okay? That I care about you; that I want to be with you. And like I said, you can keep wasting your time blaming me… and then what happens if she does die, huh?"

Kady didn't want to think about that possibility at all, figuring that if she had to be left with one parent she'd rather it be Lily than Chris. And the fact that he could talk about her mother possibly dying, so casually, only served to enrage her further, and she moved to hit him again but he caught her at her wrists, pushing her out to keep her away from him until the point she would calm down.

"SHE'S NOT GOING TO DIE!" she screamed. "She won't!

"She might," Chris said again, hating himself for saying it but it was a possibility that might come to fruition, and it had to be acknowledged. "And if she was to, Kadence… would you rather her last minutes be spent alone, with you out here blaming me for everything again? Baby, you have one chance – ONE chance – to make things right between you and her, here. It's up to you if you take it or not, but it's about time you got your damn priorities straight and did what's best for your mother. She's the only one you've got and will ever have!"

Honestly, Chris did not care at this point if Kady hated him for ever, and he wasn't prepared to argue this out with her anymore. Lily was right. No one could make Kady let go of her hate and resentments that she'd carried around with her all her life.

"Don't you get it, Kady? Don't you see what's happening? You don't have a lot of time to make up your mind about what you want to do. Now, there's nothing we can do here. All your mother wanted to know was that you were still somewhat human and that you loved her – hell, she almost died, that's how bad she wanted it from you! The world does not revolve around you, it never did. Maybe for once you should stop feeling so sorry for yourself and think about Lily."

Chris finished for now, but there was still a lot more he wanted to tell her; that she needed to hear. Kady stared at him with sullenness, having no quick comeback to shoot down his words. He started to walk off, but stopped a couple of steps later though didn't turn around.

"I'm going back in to see if there's anymore information on Lily. You should give her the one thing she's wanted from you, Kady. If you don't, then you really are the twisted, evil little girl that you say you are. And you'd just prove that you don't deserve to have a mom as devoted as Lily. You'll be on your own, just like you always wanted." He walked back into the hospital, again leaving Kady alone to absorb the meaning of her words.

Kady screamed and slid to the ground, sobbing. What an asshole! And the worst thing of all was that he was right, in every sense! If Lily was to die because of her daughter's stubbornness and hate, then Kady could not blame anyone but herself. She'd never admit it to herself, let alone out loud. And she let Chris get to her. He knew how to better than anyone, including Lily.

"Kady!"

She dropped her hands from her face and looked up and saw both Danny and Jenna tearing across the huge hospital parking lot in her direction. Kady managed to pull herself up by holding onto a handrail that was near her, and used what little strength she had left to push herself off the ground. Danny practically knocked her down again, but she quickly caught her balance and returned his embrace. She allowed herself to cry again, knowing she had the closest people she had to a family with her now.

"Oh God, Kady…" Jenna softly cooed, and she helped Danny get the girl to a nearby bench, to give her some rest and support. Kady sat down, and they sat either side of her. "What the hell happened? I saw the accident scene, it's—"

"I know!" Kady interrupted her, not wanting to think about the carnage of the accident. "I just… it just happened! I walked off, and Mom was calling after me but I ignored her!" she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I should've stopped, why the fuck didn't I just listen to her?"

"Because then you wouldn't have been yourself," Danny pointed out and pulled his best friend in for another hug. "There's no way you could've known what was gonna happen. You couldn't have seen it coming…"

"She could die!" Kady yelled. "And that'd leave me with Chris!"

"Kady," Jenna joined in. As tragic as the situation was for Kady, Jenna was quickly losing patience with her. Granted, she had never gotten along particularly well with Lily or Chris, but they were still this girl's parents, and one of them was fighting for her life. Kady wasn't exactly seeing the bigger picture. "Being with Chris should be the least of your concerns right now! I figured you would be more concerned right now with how your mom is doing rather than what life would be like if you got stuck with Chris Harris."

"But—"

"Where is he, anyway?" Danny wondered, and looked all around. There was no sign of him.

"He went inside to see if there's any news on mom," she replied. "I don't care what he says. I'm staying; I can't leave her."

"Kady—"

"No, Jenna! If she does… I wanna be here." Kady's voice choked up again, eyes squeezed shut as she tried to internalize the pain. All these years she spent her life hating her mother for not telling her about her dad, and all these years hating Chris for not being in her life… the idea of Lily dying now seemed too painful for her to deal with.

"You're not going to be able to see her until tomorrow, anyway," Chris spoke, approaching all three of them. Jenna rubbed Kady's shoulder and stood up.

"How is she?"

"I couldn't get anything," he told her sadly. "I got told the same shit as before. They won't know anything until tomorrow at the latest… Kady," he looked at his daughter, who refused to return the favor. "There's nothing more we can do here!"

"He's right, you know… and trust me, I never thought I'd say that," Jenna attempted a weak joke and rubbed Kady's arm. "You need sleep."

"Leave me alone!" she stood up, pushing Danny off her and took off running in the opposite direction to where they were.

She didn't know where she was running to and she didn't care, it wasn't as if she was paying much attention to what direction her feet were taking her in. All she knew was that she wanted to be as far away from people as possible. Chris watched her go, but couldn't bring himself to follow. The kid had probably seen enough adults for one day and perhaps needed time alone, but that still didn't kill the paternal instinct he had to go after her.

"I got it." Danny spoke up, catching the look on Chris' face. He turned and ran off in the same direction his friend had gone. Being that running was part of his personal training regime, he soon caught up with her.

"Kady... slow down. Where are you going?" Danny called to her.

Kady didn't slow down, didn't answer him. It wasn't until she realized where she was that Kady stopped. Danny almost ran into the back of her but caught himself just in time. Kady was standing stock still, looking out across a road. Danny looked over her shoulder and almost felt like throwing up. They were at the site of the accident. This must've been where Kady stood when it happened. There was a crew of road workers, hosing down the road while a tow truck slowly pulled away with the car on the back.

Kady let out a strangled sob and Danny put an arm across her shoulders, holding her close to him without saying a word. What was there that could be said? The whole situation was like some kind of nightmare. Truth be told, it was probably something that Kady had dreamed of at least once, although without Chris' involvement. He was sure she'd said something about wishing her mother would get hit by a car at some point in the past. Now, though... things had changed in Kady's life and he knew she never really meant it.

"She could die." Kady whispered, watching one of the road crew sweeping broken glass off the road.

"It's not gonna happen. She's too tough to go without letting you know how pissed she is at you." Danny tried to comfort her.

"I should've stopped."

"Kady, even if you had, this still could've happened. Maybe it would've been you to get hit." Danny pointed out.

"It should've been me. That would've solved everyone's problem." Kady stated surely.

"Don't, please. I know you just want your mom to be okay, and she will be, but you can't say it should've been you. You shouldn't want that." Danny told her, slightly worried.

"Why not? Chris wouldn't care. Mom would get over it, she wouldn't have to worry about me getting in to trouble anymore. It would make life so much simpler for them." Kady reasoned.

"Wouldn't make my life any easier. What would I do without my best friend? My fellow freak?" Danny challenged.

"I don't know. I don't know anything, anymore. What am I supposed to do, Danny?" Kady pleaded, tearing her eyes away from the scene in front of her to stare into Danny's eyes.

"Follow your heart. It's obvious you still have one." Danny shrugged, that being the only advice he could think of to give her.

Meanwhile, Chris and Jenna stood quietly outside the hospital. Neither of them could think of anything worth saying so they occupied themselves by watching the people around them. After a few moments, Chris pulled his cellphone from his pocket. He figured he should probably let management – and Jarrett, know what had happened. Deciding to go straight for the blond man, rather than deal with a million questions from Dixie, he dialed Jarrett's number.

"Jeff Jarrett." Jarrett answered.

"Double J, it's Chris. Something bad's happened here. Lily and I won't be back for a while." Chris explained quickly.

"What's happened? Is it the kid?" Jarrett queried.

"No, it's not Kady. Not exactly anyway. I pissed Kady off earlier and Lily went to go after her... she got hit by a car, man. She's in hospital, pretty much in a coma. They don't now how severe her head injuries are until she wakes up. Could take days before she's out, could be months." Chris told him honestly.

"Aw, hell. Sorry to hear that, man. Is there anything I can do?" Jarrett asked, concern very evident in his voice now. For all his bravado and ego, it was nice for Chris to hear that he was still human.

"Sort out time off for me and Lil?" Chris suggested.

"Done, don't even worry about it. Uh... one problem though. You still hold a title." Jarrett reminded, hating the fact that work had to encroach on what was happening in Chris' life.

"Shit. Um... look, I'm all for losing the title at this point. Some things are more important, ya know?" Chris reasoned.

"Of course. Any chance you could convince James to give up his title as well? Once Lily's back on her feet and everything, you'll get a shot to get the titles back." Jarrett decided.

"I'll call James now and talk it over. He'll let you know." Chris figured before ending the call. Jenna had listened in to Chris' side of the conversation and had pretty much worked out what had happened.

"You're being stripped of the titles, huh?" She wondered as Chris located James' number in his phone.

"Nope. Giving them up willingly, I hope." He offered a weak smile as he raised the phone to his ear again.

"Storm here, talk to me." James' voice greeted him soon after.

"James, it's Chris. Lily's been in an accident so I won't be back to work for a while. I just talked to Jarrett and he suggested that we drop the titles. We'll get another shot at them when I get back. Sound good to you?" Chris spoke in a rush, not wanting to give James time to argue.

"Wait... what was that? Lily's been in an accident? What the hell happened?" James wondered, his brain slowly catching up with what Chris had said.

"She got hit by a car. She's in hospital and the docs have no clue how bad things are until she wakes up. Kady's messed up over it, she saw it happen. I have to stay here and... I don't know..." Chris trailed off, the situation catching up with him.

"Yeah, I understand that. What's it got to do with our titles, though?" James pondered.

"I won't be there to help you defend them. No point having them. Whoever gets them will just have to realize that we'll be coming for what's ours once I'm back." Chris added in some ego of his own, trying to get James to agree to the idea.

"I guess. Any idea who it'll be that gets them?" James asked sadly, not liking the idea of giving up the gold.

"Logical thing would be The Naturals. Talk to Jarrett about it, he'll tell ya."

"Fuck no, them? Dude... this sucks." James groaned.

"Hey, we've beaten them before, we'll do it again. Nothing to worry about there. I gotta go, man. I'll call in a few days to let you know what's happening." Chris told him.

"Alright, man. Talk to ya later." James agreed.

"Oh, and, James... have a beer for me, would ya? I could damn well use one right now." Chris sighed. James laughed and told him he would before they ended the call.

"You're dropping your titles to The Naturals? The vampire freak boy will be pleased." Kady smirked as she and Danny rejoined Jenna and Chris. It wasn't hard for either of the adults to tell that Kady had probably only just won the battle with her tears. What worried Chris more, however, was the look on Danny's face. Something heavy was weighing on the boy's mind... it was obvious.

"Titles aren't important, right now. You okay, Danny?" Chris asked as he tucked his cellphone back into his pocket.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Danny stammered, only barely realizing that Chris had spoken his name. He was still worrying about the things that Kady had said during their conversation.

"Can we agree that going back to the house is a good idea, now? Kady, honey, you look like you're about to fall asleep on your feet." Jenna smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind Kady's ear.

"I guess. If we aren't allowed to see her until the morning then... yeah. But... what if something happens during the night?" Kady questioned.

"The hospital will call us if anything changes. I already arranged it." Chris told her calmly. The last thing any of them needed was for another argument to break out. Kady reluctantly agreed to leave, letting Danny and Jenna lead her towards the car. Chris followed after them, struck by the fact that Kady was closer to a person who used to be somewhat his enemy than she was to him.

Once they were back at Jenna and Danny's, Danny marched Kady straight to his room, ordering her to get some sleep. She put up a weak protest but it wasn't long before her breathing slowed and she'd drifted off. When he was sure she was asleep, Danny went back out to the living room to find Chris sitting on the couch, leaning back, his head resting on the back of the couch and his eyes closed. Not wanting to disturb him, he went into the kitchen to see if his mother was there. A note pinned to the fridge told him she'd been called back into work.

"Well, this won't be uncomfortable... much." Danny mumbled as he walked to the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

"Uh... Chris... don't mean to bother you but I was wondering if you wanted anything." Danny offered. Chris' head shot up, his eyes open. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Actually, a beer would be good, if you have any." He decided. Danny disappeared back into the kitchen and returned moments later with two bottles of beer. He handed one to Chris and began opening the other for himself.

"I don't think so, kid." Chris chuckled as he reached out and took the beer out of Danny's hands.

"Worth a shot. Can I... can I talk to you about something?" Danny mused, trying to decide whether he should mention his concerns or not.

"Sure. Somethin' on your mind?" Chris wondered, taking a swig of beer. The cold liquid gave him some welcome comfort and it suddenly wasn't hard to see why James drank so much.

"Yeah. Something Kady said earlier... I'm kinda worried." Danny told him. Chris raised an eyebrow, indicating that Danny should continue. He could see the conflict the young man seemed to be having with whatever it was he wanted to say.

"She said she wished it was her that got hit by the car. That if she died, you wouldn't care and that Lily would be better off. I know she was upset and everything but... she's never said anything like that before." Danny admitted. He watched Chris' face closely and saw the concern increase on it.

"I can see why that would worry you. Look, things are going to be tough for Kady for a while. Having me around is new to her, then the accident... too much, all at once. I'd give anything to take some of it away... I really would." Chris reasoned. Danny nodded, and was quite surprised to find himself believing him. Suddenly, Chris didn't seem as horrible as he did earlier that day, not to the point where Danny liked him but just okay enough to say that he didn't actually hate the guy.

"Kady hasn't always been like that, you know," he commented. Chris frowned.

"What?"

"The whole goth thing? It only started with her maybe three, four years ago. Not long," Danny explained, and sat down across from Chris. "Me on the other hand... I suppose you knew my mom in high school, with Lily, yeah?"

The older man nodded, bringing the bottle to his lips again.

"Yeah, well you'd know she was into all that outcast, goth stuff when she was my age. Even after I was born. Guess it's not surprise I got into it at an early age, like even when I was kindergarten. Nothing heavy," he smiled weakly. "That's where I met Kady."

Chris smiled as well, appreciating what Danny was trying to do – giving him some history on Kady, which was what Chris always wanted but wasn't getting from either Lily or Kady. Her best friend was the next best thing. It was hard to imagine that angry child as a child playing with Barbie dolls or in a pink tutu, or any of the normal little girl stuff.

Danny continued. "I saw some kid way bigger than her and he had stolen some money from her or something like that. Anyway I totally kicked his ass, and of course got in heaps of trouble, and our mothers were called. It was weird when our moms met that day, considering they didn't like each other much, right?"

"Cats and dogs," Chris told him. "Lily was the cheerleader, Jenna... complete opposite. You can imagine the conflict."

"Yeah, mom told me a lot of the stuff she and Lily used to do to each other. What did you do?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. Did you just, like, sit back and watch?"

Chris shrugged. "Pretty much because there wasn't much I could do; we tried... me and David, Jenna's boyfriend at the time... we were both pretty good friends, we knew each other since before high school, but we couldn't get those two to calm down. The rivalry between your mom and Lily was pretty famous through the whole damn town, not just at school. Always at each other's throats. Can't tell you how many times I had to run after Lily when she ran away from school crying."

"Mom made Lily cry, huh?"

"Oh yeah. Heaps of times. That's why it's so strange seeing that you and Kady are best friends."

Danny nodded. "Yeah... mom and Lily didn't even really talk much even as we were growing up together. They'd get along pretty okay for our sake, I guess, but they're not social."

Chris toyed with the bottle in his hands, thinking about what the kid was telling him, and at the same time remembering those times at school when Lily and Jenna were screaming at each other, or when Jenna had just finished pulling a mean prank on Lily and then Lily would run away and he'd have to follow her. "So... why did Kady get into all the goth stuff? I mean, fair enough if you're into and all that, but that wasn't exactly what I had in mind for her..."

"Yeah, I know. I don't know what to tell ya, maybe I just rubbed off on her," Danny weakly teased. "I guess..." he thought carefully, thinking how he should word this without making Chris feel worse than he already was. "I guess I can basically peg it down to her tenth birthday... I don't know if I should tell ya this, man..."

"I can handle it, Danny. I wanna know her. The good stuff and the bad," Chris reassured him. "What is it?"

"Well," Danny continued slowly. "Ever since I knew her, up to that point, every birthday she'd make the same wish when she blew out her birthday candles. The same one, every time, and she'd always write it down and put it under her pillow. She'd always wish that her dad would come home for her..." he trailed off and watched for Chris' reaction.

Chris inhaled sharply and looked down at the bottle in his hands, Danny's words impacting him like a ton of bricks. To think that Kady had waited for him, for so long... he didn't know if it was possible for a child to hate a parent for all their life, and now he knew that Kady didn't hate him the entire time she was growing up.

"She missed you," Danny echoed his thoughts, and Chris looked up with a pained expression.

"I didn't know..." he softly replied.

"After making her birthday wish on her tenth birthday," the boy continued, "and not having it come true... she screamed and ran to her room and locked the door, staying in there for the rest of the night. The next day, it was like she was a completely new person. She didn't care about anything or anyone... that's when she got into the goth thing."

Danny stopped talking at that point, and Chris remained silent. Kady had lost her will to love life because he never came back for her, or proved to her that he was out there still thinking about her and loving her. It was no surprise that as a child she felt rejected. Now it was becoming clearer to him how much his absence really hurt his daughter. That's the worst kind of guilt there could be for any parent.

"I'm sorry, Chris. Didn't mean to lay that all on you."

"Forget it," Chris replied with a weak smile. "I needed to know. I guess I've deserved everything she's screamed at me so far. I really let her down."

"I don't think she hates you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Trust me, I know Kady. She doesn't hate you. I don't think she could hate you no matter how hard she tried."

"Well, she's doing a damn convincing job of acting like she hates me," Chris replied, seriously. "Not that I blame her."

"She doesn't hate the world or anything, it's just that she doesn't know how to deal with it. She doesn't want to know how to deal with it," Danny explained with certainty, knowing how Kady worked better than her own mother, even. He figured that, since Chris wasn't the asshole he thought he was, maybe it was okay to let him know who Kady really was. "Look, I don't know if she'd ever accept you as her dad or whatever, I'm just saying what I know and see. I don't want her to get hurt again, she's my best friend. Just, um... can you answer me something?"

"Sure, kid."

"You want back in her life... so you're not going to leave again, are you? Because she would not be able to handle that."

Chris could see how serious Danny was, and it was touching to know that his daughter had someone she was close to. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and couldn't erase the ideas and thoughts, the images of his only child giving up on life because she had been denied, by him and Lily, exactly what she needed all along. A family. He exhaled and sat up straight, regaining his composure before the emotion could take over, and stood up.

"I'm not leaving her again," he said, firmly. "I can't leave her again. I won't."

Danny also stood up, satisfied with that answer, but still cautious to the idea of this man suddenly reappearing in Kady's life. "I get it. Look, um... if you want you can crash in my room. You'd probably get a better rest there than you would on the couch."

"Thanks for the offer Danny, but I'll be fine," Chris replied, setting the bottle on the table and stretching. The day had again been an exhausting one, and he wondered how Lily was able to put up with this day in and day out for the past thirteen years.

"No, it's cool," Danny insisted. "I'll be in the other room anyway, I'm usually surfing the web at night. I'm a creature that lives in the dark."

Chris looked at him, apprehensively. "I don't—"

"Hey, it's just an offer. Take it or leave it. I'll be in the other room." Danny moved to leave and Chris bit his lip.

"Danny?"

The kid stopped and turned back. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Two minutes later, Chris was standing outside Danny's bedroom door and carefully turned the doorknob, fully aware that Kady was sleeping on the other side. He pushed the door open and peered inside. On one of the two beds in the room, Kady's curled up body lay motionless except for the expanding and contracting of her chest. Chris slipped in and gently closed the door behind him, leaving nothing but the light from the setting sun outside to illuminate the room. He wanted to approach her, but fear was setting in... there was nothing hardened about her now; even her expression was soft, almost peaceful, like all the horrors of the days events had been washed away.

Chris sat down carefully on her bed and stared at her... for the first time ever he was able to get a good look at his child without having to worry about her responding to him. Under all that make-up, she really was a beautiful girl... so many features that resembled a young Lily. It was hard not to see the resemblance in mother and daughter, at least for Chris. He stared at her, reflecting on the last few days that none of them would be forgetting. Except maybe Lily, if she woke up.

"I shouldn't have left you..." Chris whispered to a sleeping Kady. It was a chance to talk to her without her smart ass comments. "It was a mistake, I know that... and... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have walked out on you, baby. But, uh... I did. I know I fucked up with you, with Lily, with... everything."

Kady remained asleep, undisturbed by his talking, and Chris took that as a sign that she was perhaps sleeping well, which she needed. There was so much that he wanted to tell her while she was awake but she wouldn't let him. So he'd say it to her while she slept... just like when he used to sit up with her at night when she was a baby and talk softly to her.

"No matter what happens with your mom... I'm gonna be with you, okay? I know I made mistakes, Kady, I just..." he paused for a second to recollect his thoughts and then continued. "I need you to give me a chance. Not forgive me... I don't think I could ask you for that. Just... give me a chance, that's all."

He decided to leave it at that, and let her rest. He'd never seen her so peaceful, not since she was a baby, so why disturb a good thing? She'd probably be back to her usual, sullen, sour self when she woke up. Chris stood up and slowly walked over to the other bed and sat down on it. After kicking his shoes off, he was left to try get through the memories of the day before he could get to sleep. Nevertheless, five minutes later he was already dozing off, sleep not waiting too long to overtake him. Unbeknown to him, Kady had been listening to every word, and she stared at the wall, her back to him. Things were falling apart, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

* * *

**A/N:** Wow, right? We're really putting them through hell. MWUAHAHAHA! Please deposit a review and come again! Rock on, friends… 


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** Hello my freaky friends! This is probably gonna turn into a friggen epic at the rate we're going. 250 pages and still going strong, Phoenix! We rock! Woohoo! Okay, that was a slight ego trip there. Now back to reality. Seriously dudes, enjoy the story and... I'm gonna go kill the monkey. Hear that, Phoenix? YES! I'm going after your damn monkey. The real one! Anyway, enjoy! More angst to come. **_Lizzie_**

* * *

Later into that evening, Kady groaned in annoyance at her own body for waking up, and opened her eyes. There wasn't much more light than there was when she had her eyes closed, indicating that time had moved into night time. She waited a few seconds to adjust back to the realm of the conscious and then moved to sitting up, taking her time in doing so. At that point, of course, all the horrors of that days events flooded her head again, and she groaned a second time. Since she hadn't been woken up at any time while she was asleep, she would assume that no one has heard any news on Lily, which could only be a good thing. The clock on the wall read 8:45 PM, and just as she swung her legs over the side of her bed, something started ringing, causing her to jump in shock.

"What the hell?"

Kady stood up and looked around the room, and reached over and turned on a lamp. The room became partially lit up, though remained dim. It was then she noticed Chris asleep on the bed across from her, and remembered what he had said to her a few hours earlier, him thinking she wasn't consciously aware. Now she didn't know what to think of him... thirteen years of resentment, coupled with four years of outright not giving a damn about him anymore had been completely shattered by him still being here and not giving up on her or Lily. It seemed like he actually was trying to make things right as best he could, to take responsibility rather than absolve himself of it. But she broke away from her thoughts when the ringing persisted, and she realized it was a cell phone. Remembering that hers was lost, she figured it must be Chris' and so she lightly made her way over to where he was sleeping, to where his jacket and other items were resting on Danny's desk. There was his cell phone, vibrating and flashing, indicating an incoming call. Kady picked it up and looked at the caller ID. James Storm. She pressed the answer button.

"Hello?" she whispered into it upon placing it at her ear.

"Chris man, I—" a loud voice stopped when it wasn't Chris who answered the phone. "Who the hell's this?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Kady replied sarcastically, not in the mood to be antisocial with anyone – it was energy she didn't have, but it was coming naturally.

"Kady?"

"Good guess, asshole."

"Where's Chris?" James demanded.

"Sleepin'," she stated, casting a sideways glance at her father who still didn't wake. "Whatever you want, you'll have to deal with me."

James, suddenly remembering that this kid has just seen her mother get knocked down by a car, reeled in his attitude a bit and calmed down. "So... how you doing?"

"Pretty damn crap thanks, yourself?"

"Any news on...?"

"No."

"Oh..."

"What do you want?" Kady wanted to know, and end this conversation as quickly as possible.

"Um, look tell your dad—"

"He's not my dad," she interrupted, and wanted to make that point perfectly clear. On the other end, James chuckled and shook his head in amazement at the sullenness of this girl. Ever stubborn and defiant to the end. Just like Chris.

"Whatever you say, kid," he replied. "Just tell him I talked to Jarrett; we're losing the titles to the Naturals... of all people, why it's gotta be those idiots I don't know. But we get another shot when he gets back."

"Fine. Good for you. I gotta go..."

"And Kady?"

"What?" she sighed, now very impatient and was about to hang up on this dude.

"I'm sorry about your mom..."

"Thanks," Kady muttered quickly and ended the call, dropping the cell phone back onto the desk and turned back to Chris. Things were only going to get further complicated between them before this tragedy would end, and she didn't know why she was fighting it anymore. Chris was back in their lives no matter what, and she would have to accept it... but not willingly. There was still a lot he needed to answer for, but for now, Kady mentally agreed to call a truce with him, for the sake of Lily. She crossed the room to the door and opened it, and stepped into the main hallway, closing the door again. Chris remained sleeping, though turned on his side; his eyelids fluttering as he went into a deeper sleep...

_He stumbled out of the bathroom, falling against the door for some support; all energy he once possessed had all but disappeared after another wild party to celebrate the end of high school and the embracing of freedom and independence. It had been six weeks since graduation, and there was no end in sight for the parties of all the graduates who were getting in all the partying they could before college would start in the fall. Chris let out a ragged cough and paused for a few seconds to get his breath back, and looked around at the quiet house. In a few weeks he'd be out of home and into the dorms at college, and he couldn't wait._

_He coughed again and pushed himself up and off the wall, and caught his balance. The killer headache he had, and also the fatigue that had set in after staying out all night, was really impeding his sense of judgment and direction but nevertheless, going back to bed wasn't an option. Ten minutes earlier, his girlfriend Lily had called him up screaming for him to get his hungover, lazy ass self out of bed. Now, there was pounding at the front door and his parents must have gone out or something because no one had answered it._

_BANG, BANG, BANG_

"_Yeah, yeah..." he muttered, holding a hand to his head. "I'm coming, I'm coming... hold on..."_

_Chris staggered down the hall and didn't stop until he reached the living room, and walked over to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open and squinted as the bright light slammed against him. Lily was standing there, looking a little more scared than pissed off like she did on the phone._

"_Took you long enough," she scolded, pushing past him._

"_Nice to see you too, gorgeous."_

_Lily had been at the party the night before, and though she did enjoy drinking at times, she had been sick and so hadn't participated, though she had sat back and laughed at the complete mess Chris and his friends got themselves into, it was hilarious. But there was no laughing now, and her boyfriend stared after her with confusion and let the door slam shut on his own. Lily walked into the living room and stopped when she was in the middle, and waited for Chris to join her. When he did, she took out something from one of the pockets of her jeans and looked up at him again – she had promised herself on the way over that she wouldn't cry, but being with him now changed those plans._

"_Baby you look upset," he commented lightly, flopping down on the sofa and smiled charmingly at her, not getting that she wasn't playing any games. "Want me to make you feel better?"_

_Lily eyed him up and down; Chris looked more than disheveled. He looked like a damn train wreck. "Looking like that? I think not..."_

"_Look, about your purse last night, I swear I didn't know it was there when I—" he started to explain what he thought Lily was so upset about, but stopped when he saw her expression growing darker. "This... isn't about your purse?"_

"_Good guess, idiot," she retorted. "We need to talk."_

"_Talk? Did I do something? I honestly wouldn't remember if I did..." _

"_Chris, shut the fuck up!" she yelled, and he winced; her raised voice piercing his brain like a thousand knives._

"_Ah,fuck!" he groaned, lying down on the sofa. "Lily, come on... play nice! My head feels like its gonna explode..."_

_Lily walked around the coffee table so she was standing in front of him, and picked up one of the pillows on the sofa next to him, whacking him with it._

"_Hey!"_

"_Chris!" she snapped, not in the mood for his games. Earlier that day she had found out some news that was going to change both their lives, and it's not that she had worked up the courage to tell him, but it was more like she was going to tell him before she lost the nerve to. "This is serious! Stop being such an asshole!"_

"_Have I ever told you how damn hot you look when you're mad?" he teased, and grabbed her wrist, pulling Lily onto his lap before she could react. Amid her protests, he kissed her neck. Lily tried to wriggle from his grasp, losing her patience with him. All those extra hours of training Chris had been putting in at the gym were paying off for him; Lily's struggles were in vain._

"_Chris, I swear to God, if you don't stop I'll—"_

"_Fine!" he released her arms and she stood up, but as she did, Chris reached forward and slapped her on the butt._

"_CHRIS!" she protested, turning around and glaring at him with renewed menace. _

"_Sorry, sorry," he held up his hands defensively. "Couldn't resist. Okay, so what's up? What or who has pissed you off this morning? Anyone I'm gonna have to kill?"_

_Chris didn't wait for her to respond to his questions and got up off the sofa, with the intent on listening to her while getting some food. Growing boys need their food after all, and since he was supposed to be training that day at the same time as working off a hangover, so there was not much time for doing nothing. Lily rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated groan and followed him. It was hard to keep his attention sometimes, the bastard._

"_Do you know how annoying you are sometimes?" she asked, half-heartedly, entering the kitchen after him. _

"_Not until you tell me. Other than that, I'm really not sure," Chris replied, scanning the contents of the fridge. After seeing no particular food item of interest, he settled with milk for now and removed the carton, slamming the door shut. He then turned back to face Lily, and jumped slightly at the iciness held in her eyes. "Whoa. Okay, wasn't expecting that. So what have I done now to warrant that look from you? I told you, the thing with your stuff last night—"_

"_It's not about my things, forget about that!" Lily insisted, slamming her hand down on the kitchen counter with such force that again, he jumped back._

"_Okay, lady, you're starting to scare me a bit... it's not that time of the month again is it?" only Chris could get away with such a comment like that to her, usually, but this was probably not the most appropriate time for it as he would soon find out. Lily's mouth dropped open and she looked around for something sharp to seriously throw at him. Finding nothing, she settled for another deathly glare._

"_Oh my gosh you are such a jerk sometimes..." she hissed._

"_Lily, just tell me what the hell is your problem, okay? Whatever it is, I won't know until you tell me! It can't be that bad."_

"_Trust me, it is," she said, the anger being replaced with fear and Chris immediately saw that she was serious. He put the milk carton down on the counter and walked over to her. The joke was over, he knew, seeing Lily's hands trembling as they held a small, folded piece of paper. He reached for it, but she held it just out of his reach..._

"_Promise you won't flip out, Chris," she asked. "I wouldn't be able to deal with that. We need to figure out what to do."_

"_We can't until I know what you're bitching about," he told her, starting to feel the impatience. Lily never usually was nervous with him, nor was she this elusive... usually she was always direct about things she wanted or needed to say._

"_Just promise me!"_

"_I promise nothing, because if you have to ask 'Promise you won't flip out', that means I probably will... so just give me the damn paper."_

_Lily hesitated and bit her lip, nervously, and let him take the paper from her hands. Chris unfolded it to see a bunch of numbers from what looked to be some sort of medical test. But he was too hungover to comprehend any of it at that time, and looked up, shaking his head, telling her that he didn't understand._

"_Chris..." her voice wavered, though Lily was anticipating his reaction. "I found out that I'm, um... pregnant."_

Chris bolted straight up into a sitting position from where he lay on Danny's bed, breathing deeply to catch some breath he had lost for some reason. Dreaming of the day Lily had told him that they were going to be parents was kind of freaky, since that was the first time in while since he had thought about that day. Not that he should be surprised, since all these past few days have done was to bring up old memories, and guilt, forcing him to think about what he did wrong and how things should have been.

"Shit. Why me?" he mused and rubbed his head. Checking over at the other bed, he saw that Kady was gone and figured she was probably with Danny, so he stood up and went to the door.

He walked into the kitchen a minute later, where Kady was sitting alone at the table, flipping through what looked to be one of Danny's freaky magazine's. Chris walked in behind her, so she didn't notice him and continued with her own business, using any means necessary to block out any thoughts of Lily. Chris stared at the back of her head, thinking... this point of his life was probably the most difficult, more than anything. Lily had been right that day she told him. After she revealed the pregnancy, the first thing she said was that their lives wouldn't be the same.

"Hey," he softly spoke up, getting Kady's attention without scaring her.

"Hi," she replied, just as soft.

Chris joined her at the table, sliding into the seat across from her – for a moment he thought about sitting next to her but wisely decided to give her the space she always craved.

"How long you been up?"

"Not long. 'Bout fifteen minutes."

"Where's Danny?"

"Dunno. Probably playing his computer games or something," Kady guessed and turned the page of the magazine, not looking at him. It was hard enough to deal with the idea that her mother could die without being reminded of who she'd have to go with if it happened. "When he gets in his gaming zone, there's no reaching him."

"I see..." Chris smiled, but felt like he was walking on eggshells with her. "How are you feeling? Any better?"

"Nope. Less tired, though."

"Is there ever a time when you're not a smart ass?"

"Yes. When I'm sleeping."

"Uh huh..." it was not like they would be able to get a good conversation going, and although Chris had got some information of Kady's life from Danny, he wanted to get to know her on his own. "Can I ask you something?"

Kady stopped what she was doing and tapped her index finger on the page, contemplating what he could possibly want to ask her. He'd probably ask her anyway, so she shrugged, telling him to proceed but still didn't look at him. Chris shifted in his seat to be more comfortable and chose his words carefully.

"When exactly did you give up?"

That got her attention.

"What?"

"Danny told me... he told me that you started into all this goth stuff after your tenth birthday. He also told me what you used to do when..." Chris stopped when Kady reacted by slamming her hand on the table, infuriated.

"Fuck!" she growled. "I'm gonna kill him..."

"It's not his fault, Kady. He was worried about you..."

"Why was he worried about me?"

"Never mind," Chris wanted to keep Danny's concerns quiet from her, otherwise Kady would just be more pissed and none of them needed that. "But is it true? What you used to do...?"

Kady muttered some curse words under her breath, which Chris couldn't hear, and she nodded, and found the confidence to look at him again. "Yeah, it's true. But when you never came, I figured 'what's the point, anymore? He hates me and doesn't love me. So why should I love him?' and I just stopped. The goth thing is something I 'fell' into, it's not like I wanted it to happen. I didn't give up on anything. I simply stopped caring, Chris. Just like you had. Anyway... it doesn't matter now."

"It matters to me," her father said. "Come on, Kady. Can we not do this now? I want to know... I need to know. I want to know you, baby... I'm sick and tired of wasting my energy on trying to make you see that. I know you see it, but you don't want to accept it and that's your right. Lily was right, I can't force you to accept me back into your life... so just give me something... please?" Kady remained silent and he slipped into the chair beside her, putting his hand on her arm. Surprisingly, she didn't pull away.

"Please, Kady... give me something. After Lily gets well – and she will get well – if you still want me out of your life, I'll be gone. Forever. But please just give me something, so I can know you... something to take with me, if I have to. That's all I've ever wanted is to know you..."

Her resistance was crumbling to his pleas; what harm could there be done in giving him what he wanted to know? Kady sat back and pondered further. It was getting harder and harder to make the right decisions as things got more convoluted; twisted in a world that was already twisted enough in her mind. Chris' eyes held it all. Sadness. Regret. Pain. Love. Desperation. They both knew this was the first and most likely last chance they would get to know anything about each other. Kady took a deep breath.

"Want something to eat?" she asked.

That was about as tolerant and accepting as Kady would get right now, and so Chris nodded and relaxed a little more. Kady pushed her chair back from the table and got to her feet, and went over to the fridge.

"I swear, how much leftover Chinese can two people have?" she commented, seeing a substantial lack of real food and it confirmed her belief that Jenna and Danny rarely lived off anything but fast food. Not necessarily by choice, but Jenna was always working and only once every week did she get to go out shopping for food, and Danny wasn't that much help in that department.

"My fridge is full of it," Chris told her. "Not home much, so I guess it's no surprise... place needs a good cleaning anyway."

"I thought, Mr. Wrestling Big shot, you would have dozens of lady wrestling friends and fans who'd be throwing themselves at your feet..." Kady sardonically teased, still searching through the old Chinese boxes, making sure that there really was no edible food for consumption.

"Plenty of ladies. Nothing serious though." Chris shrugged.

"Dude, I don't wanna know," Kady shuddered. No matter what, he was still her father and she didn't want any disturbing mental images.

"Fair enough."

"Seriously, though..." Kady said, willing to prod him for information, now. "Haven't you been married? Or had kids? I mean, other than me..."

Chris laughed and shook his head. "No. To be honest, I think I missed my chance a long time ago..."

The implications of those words hung in the air for both to think about, and Kady stopped searching for food, for just a second to absorb the meaning of them. Each time he spoke, he made it more difficult for her to fully, outright hate him... she still trusted him about as far as she could throw him, but she couldn't hate him either.

"After I... left... you and Lily, I don't know... of course, I went out with woman but none of them led anywhere. None of them were the same."

Kady smiled when she saw a plate of leftover turkey and removed it from the fridge and closed the door. She placed it on the counter and grabbed some bread from the bread dispenser, figuring that there wasn't much other clean food left to eat anyway.

"Turkey okay for you?"

"Sure."

"Good cause that's all there is if you don't wanna get food poisoning."

She started making them sandwiches, and thought carefully about asking the next question that surely any child of separated parents would ask at some point or another.

"I was wondering something..."

"What's that?"

Kady stopped what she was doing for a brief moment and leaned against the counter and looked at him.

"Do you still love her?"

"Who?"

"Mom."

Chris wanted to slink out of the room and thought maybe he should start a fight with her just for the hell of it so he could get out of answering that. The one question every parent dreaded – well, every single parent. He wondered how many times Kady asked Lily that same question about him, if ever. Kady smirked; he was visibly struggling to come up with an appropriate answer.

"Chris?"

"Kady, that's the most evil question you could ever ask me..."

"I know. What's even more evil is that I want an answer. Not for emotional purposes, but informative purposes."

He gave her an evil glare and secretly prayed for some way to get out of answering such an awkward question – he couldn't blame her for asking it, but still! Come on, it was evil!

"Kady... that's not fair."

"I don't care either way. I just like watching you squirm. So do you?"

"It's not that simple. Lily and I still have a lot of unfinished business."

"Dude, that's not answering the question."

Chris stood up and approached her. "That ship sailed a long time ago..."

"You're still avoiding the question!"

They stared each other down, seeing who would crack first – again, it was probably the friendliest that it would get, but at least there was lessened tension between them, and took away, for a little bit, the pain of thinking about Lily lying in the middle of that road.

"Lily and I have our stuff to work out. We both moved on a long time ago. And before you say 'that's not answering the question', you're right. But that's the best answer I can give you. Okay?"

Kady gave him a shrug of indifference and resumed working on the sandwiches, and placed the slices of poultry on the bread with delicacy, analyzing Chris' responses. The truth was, she was very interested in knowing if he was still interested in Lily – depending on whether he did or not, it could complicate the situations further. She hoped he wasn't... the last thing she wanted was for her parents to get back together for the fact that it would just be too damn weird.

"Well, whatever," she returned to her state of complete non-caring. "I just don't want things to get weirder than they have to be."

"I don't think you gotta worry about that, okay?" Chris reassured her and jumped up onto the kitchen counter and watched her fix their food. After she finished, she put the two sandwiches on separate plates and held one out to Chris, who readily accepted it, only just feeling the hunger of not eating that day, which was only exacerbated by the stress.

"Speaking of weird," Kady changed the subject and also jumped up on the counter, across from him. "I just woke up, and your cell phone went off."

"Oh yeah?" he replied, biting into the food.

"Yeah, it was your drunken cowboy calling for you."

Chris almost choked on his food at that description, which was actually very accurate of James. He swallowed the turkey and recovered. "What'd he want? Did you take a message or did you give him your usual charming reply?"

"Bite me. And yes, I took a message. He was babbling about something like talking to someone about losing the titles to The Naturals, and that it was all set and you get your return match."

"Good," Chris said, relieved at that news. "I hate losing out to those morons..."

"What is it between you and them? What's the deal?"

"The deal is that Chase Stevens and Andy Douglas are complete idiots, that's what," there was no argument there, but Kady nodded.

"Good enough. Can't argue there. Don't know about Chase Stevens, but Andy Douglas is an ass..."

Chris laughed. "That's my girl."

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry!"

They were interrupted by the phone ringing, and they glanced at each other, not knowing if they should answer it. When the phone went into its fifth ring, it was obvious that Danny either couldn't be bothered or couldn't hear the phone.

"HEY FREAK!" Kady called out. "PHONE!"

"Yeah, shut up! I'm getting it!" Danny called back. A couple of seconds later, the ringing stopped and muffled talking could be heard in the next room – he had answered it. Kady turned back to Chris who had already almost finished his sandwich, while she was barely halfway through hers.

"Hungry?" she guessed.

"Hell yeah. I'm a wrestler; starve me of food and you'd be sorry..."

"Good to know." Kady hated the feeling of being comfortable with him; but their personalities were greatly reflective of each other other. All her life she wanted to know her dad, and now she had her chance. "You know something... I, um... I heard what you told me, when you came into Danny's room earlier today. I was kinda dozing off, but I was still awake..."

"I thought it'd be easier to do while you were sleeping," Chris confessed.

"But it wasn't?"

"Far from it."

Then, Danny ran into the room, looking no less than panicked, effectively putting to rest this conversation.

"Guys, that was the hospital!"

Chris jumped off the counter at the same time as his daughter; alarmed because Danny was not looking that happy. But his panic masked the real reason.

"Lily's woken up!"

Twenty minutes later, Chris and the two fourteen-year-olds were in the hospital and on the elevator, on the way to the floor Lily had apparently been taken to, or at least that's where they were told to go find her. As the elevator started to move, Chris turned to Kady who was trembling violently, and immediately reached out to her. Danny watched, completely stunned, as Kady allowed herself, with no resistance at all, to fall back into Chris' arms. Sleep really must've done her good... he thought.

In the past, Kady used to berate her father and say that when she did finally get to meet him, she'd give him hell and make sure that he'd wish he'd never left her and run off. Kady had certainly given Chris a piece of her mind. But now, though it looked like she wasn't completely comfortable with him, things had cooled down between them considerably. She absentmindedly put her arm around Chris' waist for support, and he was taken aback by her apparent ease with this. It still felt strange to him, and to her too, he was sure. But Kady remained strong, and stared straight ahead, and focused on what she would say to Lily. What could she say to her?

Chris felt her shaking against him, and looked down. "What's up?"

"What can I say to her?" Kady asked, her voice wavering and cracking with building up emotion. "She's here because of me..."

"Hey, come on!" Danny punched her arm to get her to snap out of this. "Seriously, she'll just consider this one of those bad days with you. And think about it, it's not like she can throw you out of her room... she'll have to listen to you! Granted, it got a little out of control but she won't hate you."

"But—"

"As twisted as the way Danny put it is," Chris interrupted her. "He's right... in some ways. Dude, you really got issues," he added that last part directed at Danny, and then grabbed Kady's shoulders and turned her around so she would be facing him. "Listen to your twisted friend, God knows you won't listen to me. Kady, your mom loves you. Even after getting slammed by a car, she'll still love you..."

"And think about how psyched she'd be to see you two getting along!" Danny pointed out, in another pathetic attempt to get some confidence back into his best friend. "Shouldn't that count for—OWW! Hey!" he rubbed the back of his head, which Chris had hit in order to get him to shut up.

"Enough talking, Danny," he ordered and kept a hold of Kady. "Kady, look if you don't wanna go in there... I'm sure Lily will understand."

"No, I have to," Kady affirmed, still uncertain. "She's my mom. And she almost died because of me."

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened on the fourth floor, the Intensive Care Unit was to the left, while the Pediatric Oncology wards were to the right. Following the directional signs, Chris led them into the main hall and toward the lit up area of the fourth floor reception which was directly ahead of them. Chris approached the desk and dropped his keys intentionally on top to get the attention of the solitary attending nurse. She looked up.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, hi... we're here to see Lily Myers. Got a call earlier saying she had woken up..."

"Sure, um... are you her husband?"

Kady stifled a laugh and Chris shot her a look that told her to stay quiet for a few seconds. "No," he responded, turning back to the nurse. "I'm her ex boyfriend. This is our daughter, and her friend. Is she allowed visitors?"

"Only family, I'm afraid," the nurse replied. "But... I guess I can make an exception for you, given how late it is... one person at a time though."

"Yeah, I got it."

The nurse typed something into the computer and waited for the response. Ten seconds later, she got what she was looking for. "Ms. Myers... ah yes. She's in room 104. Down the hall there, it's the seventh door on the left."

"Thank you."

Kady's legs were turning to lead with each step, and to make things worse it was as if magnets were attached to the bottoms of her shoes; each step was becoming an extra weight. She let Chris hold onto her, to give her extra support so she could make it. For the first time in years, Kady couldn't take care of herself and was even somewhat relieved to have Chris there. She would've preferred that he not be in their lives at all, but since he was now, at least he was doing as he said he would and stepping up to his responsibilities.

"Want me to go in first?" Chris asked her quietly as they got closer to Lily's room. Kady thought it over.

"Yeah, I guess." She shrugged, not really wanting to see how badly injured her mother was. If Chris went in first, at least he'd be able to warn her.

"Alright. You two sit tight, okay?" Chris told them, leaving them just outside the door.

"I don't think I can do this." Kady whispered to Danny. Danny shook his head.

"I don't blame you. It's not like it's something that happens every day. Problem is, it might become something that happens every day. She could be here a while, Kady, and I know it'd go a lot quicker for both of you if you just sucked it up and went in there." Danny reasoned seriously.

"Quit being so right, freak." Kady smiled a little.

"You and Chris are getting along now... it's... weird. But in a good way." Danny changed the subject quickly.

"Your fault. Why'd you have to tell him about the birthday wishes and shit?" Kady wondered, remembering her earlier conversation with Chris.

"Um... I dunno. It just seemed like the thing to say, at the time." Danny shrugged. Kady punched him lightly in the arm before zoning out.

Meanwhile, Chris had approached Lily's bed slowly. He wasn't sure if she was awake, let alone if she'd remember anything about what had happened. As he looked her over, he noted that her eyes were open but somewhat glassy, like she was miles away in her own world. It was a look he'd seen in Kady's eyes a few times.

"Lil?" He whispered quietly, not wanting to startle her. She came out of whatever daydream she was having and focused on him.

"Hey." She greeted, still sounding a little groggy.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" He wondered, knowing it was a stupid question.

"Like I got hit by a car. Where's Kady?" Lily replied.

"She's waiting outside." Chris told her. Lily averted her eyes to the door, wanting nothing more than to see her little girl there.

"She saw it all, didn't she?" She queried. Chris nodded.

"Yeah. I didn't know it was you until she told me... the crowd was pretty thick." Chris explained.

"Is she okay?"

"About as okay as can be expected. She blames herself, thinks she should've stopped or whatever. I think her and I have had a slight breakthrough, though." Chris smiled, hoping to cheer her up.

"Great. Just think, all it took was me almost dying. Why didn't we think of that sooner?" Lily teased.

"Lil, don't. You're okay... you're gonna be okay. I think Kady's truce with me will probably only last as long as you're in here. Once she has you back, she probably won't want to know me again." Chris figured.

"I want to see her." Lily requested, once again looking towards the door as best she could. Chris nodded and headed back to the door calmly. Once he was outside, he looked down at his daughter.

"She's asking for you. She looks pretty banged up but, she's alert." He told her.

Kady sucked in a deep breath and let it out before nodding resolutely and heading through the door. Stepping over the threshold and into the room, it was a lot warmer than outside… the humming and beeping of the machines surrounding the bed were of, strangely, comfort. Kady inched her way forward and finally got up the courage to look at her mother, and what she saw made her almost throw up. So many tubes were connected to her, bandages covering everywhere… Lily was taped up pretty damn good. Kady had never seen her so vulnerable.

* * *

**A/N:** Poor Kady. How is she gonna deal with this? Can there finally be peace amongst the three of them? Tune in tomorrow for the next fantastic episode of… oops. I know, I know. Phoenix and I are being horrible to Chris, Kady, and Lily, right? The torture and all that stuff… but y'all are entertained, admit it. Please deposit a review! 


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** I know, we're rapidly posting chapters but the thing is we wanna get the story done so we can start on the sequel which Phoenix is just itching to do. Plus I know the feeling of having to wait for updates for stories and it can be very annoying, so we'll try keep it at a good pace for ya! Anyway, enjoy! I'm gonna crawl back into the cave from which I emerged. **_Lizzie_**

* * *

"M… Mom?" she stammered, approaching the side of the bed cautiously. Lily forced her eyes open again, and after readjusting to the light again, she saw Kady come into focus.

"Hey honey," Lily tried to manage a smile, but fearing the pain if she put to much effort into it, she instead winked the girl. Kady breathed a sigh of relief that her mother was coherent and had apparently not suffered any brain damage. "You're okay…"

"Yeah," Kady replied, nervously. "Can't say the same thing about you… so, um… how are you feeling?"

"Never better," Lily wanted to lighten the mood a bit, noting the intense reaction Kady was having to all of this. Despite her gothic persona and complete 'I-don't-give-a-fuck' attitude to just about everything and everyone she came into contact with, Kady was still only fourteen. Still a child. And still not quite able to handle seeing her mother almost killed. Still not ready to handle losing a parent. But Kady wasn't laughing at her mom's attempts to make her feel better.

"Mom…" she breathed, in a whisper. "Come on… that's not funny."

"Sit," Lily instructed, tapping the bed with the two fingers she could move, inviting her daughter to come closer. Kady was scared; not sure if she should or could touch her mother without aggravating the injuries further, but Lily managed to smile a bit more, telling her that it was okay. "Baby, it's okay. Sit. The morphine has got a good hold on me. I'll be fine."

Kady hesitated again and stood her ground, and bit her lip – she wasn't going to show emotion unless she had to, and was pushed to the limit. Right now, she was getting pushed very close to that limit. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about me. If a car couldn't kill me, there's no chance in hell that you can."

That was enough for Kady, and she checked to make sure that she wasn't going to be sitting on anything important, like any tubes or wires, or Lily herself. Once she gave the all clear, she slowly pushed herself up onto the elevated bed. Having never visited anyone in hospital before… well, at least not since her grandmother got sick and went it for a couple of weeks, when Kady was six… she didn't know how to act or what to say. The patient being her mother made it all the weirder for her. Lily could see how uncomfortable and nervous her daughter was, and wished there was something she could do to make it better. Chris said Kady felt guilty. In Lily's mind, maybe Kady was doing what she was supposed to at that age... she was wising up a bit. She was learning. Kady hung her head, staring at her hands.

"Mom… does it hurt?" she asked, unsure if it was wise to ask. Understandably it took a few seconds for the question to push past all the fatigue and heavy sedative medication that Lily was on, so it could register. Lily inhaled deeply, but couldn't feel the air move into her lungs, since her whole body was practically paralyzed by the weight of the medications she was under.

"No," she assured Kady with every bit of strength she could muster. "Can't feel a thing. Except for how thankful I am that it wasn't you, baby."

Kady's lower lip quivered. In her opinion, it should've been her who got hit, not her mother who only wanted her to listen to them. Everything was so screwed up with her and it was needlessly affecting her parents. _Maybe they really would be better off without you_, that nagging voice in the back of her head taunted, mercilessly.

"Kady?" Lily's tone lowered with worry. "Kadence? Honey, it wasn't your fault," she couldn't move to hug her, or physically reassure Kady that she would be fine. "It wasn't your fault, okay? Don't go blaming yourself. It's not your fault!"

"Yes it is," Kady whispered, sniffing and wiping her eyes on her sleeve again. "It's my fault, mom. I… I'm so sorry I wasn't a better kid to you. You didn't deserve this because of me."

"No… Kady, no!" Lily stressed, her energy waning. "Don't do this to yourself, it just happened. It was an accident, that's all."

Not being able to stand seeing Lily in such a state any longer, Kady stood up in preparation to leave.

"Don't leave…"

"I'm sorry, mom," Kady told her and back away. "I really am. I can't do this… I'm so sorry." She turned to leave, but to her surprise, Chris was standing in the doorway, blocking any exit she had. His arms were crossed over his chest and he glared at Kady. "Chris, please just move…"

"No," he refused. "I know that if I do, you'll run again. And your mother needs you here. Don't run from this, Kady…"

"I'm not gonna run!" she insisted. "I just… I need time!"

Chris stormed forward until he stood inches from Kady, and lowered his voice out of earshot from Lily. "You might not have time, Kadence. That's the whole God damn point. Be with Lily, she really needs you! This isn't about you anymore."

Kady looked away and closed her eyes. Chris reached out and pulled her to him again; she was weakened to the point where she couldn't push him away. He held her there in front of Lily's bed, she was staring down at the ground and he whispered into her ear. Lily watched, and momentarily forgot that she was lying in critical condition and saw the family that she never had. Chris was being a father, and Kady wasn't rejecting him.

"Chris," she weakly called to him, and he stopped what he was saying to Kady and looked up.

"Huh?"

"Let her go," Lily told him. "She shouldn't be here unless she's comfortable…"

"Lil, she—"

"Chris… let her go. She'll come back when she's ready. Go on."

Chris shook his head in disbelief and muttered something under his breath, and then removed his arm from around Kady's shoulders, and the girl didn't waste any time in turning around and running out the door. Outside the room, Danny looked up in shock to see Kady crying and stood up just as she collapsed in a heap on the floor. He rushed to her side, asking what was wrong and what had happened, but she didn't answer and finally let it all sink in…

In the room, Chris wanted to know why Lily again let Kady off the hook like that, and she was more than prepared to give him an answer even in her drug-induced state of peacefulness.

"She's a child, Chris… this has gotta be hard for her."

"Doesn't excuse the fact that she should be here with you," Chris reasoned, sitting on the bed where Kady had been minutes earlier. He ran his fingers through his hair and then stretched out his arms and legs . "You know as well as I do, probably more so, Lil… what could happen…"

"I know. Believe me, I do know. But we can't force her to do anything now; she'll just get more scared and rebellious and you know it," Lily explained with equal force. "Damn it, Chris. She's so much like you its scary…" she winced when she accidentally moved in a way she shouldn't have.

"Hey, calm down," Chris said, standing up in preparation to get medical staff if she needed it. "Do you need anything? Doctor? Water?"

"You to shut up a minute," Lily weakly snapped and he backed off before she stressed out too much. "Chris, listen to me for once, okay? Give her time to digest all this…" she yawned.

Seeing that she was tired, Chris told her to get some rest and excused himself from the room. Lily was in no position to object and, in fact, welcomed his keen observation in sensing that having him around was more stressful than not. He told her to just rest and not worry about Kady; that he'd take care of everything. Lily couldn't care less one way or the other, given that she was tripping out on the medication. Nevertheless, Chris had to do what was best now and walked out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him, and looked around for Kady and Danny. He didn't have to look far as, in the middle of the floor no more than ten feet away, Kady was sobbing hysterically.

"Fuck… Kady," Chris jogged over to them and dropped to his knees. "What the hell happened now?"

"She just came out here and started crying, how should I know what's wrong with her?" Danny defended. "Man, she is fucked…"

"Danny! Kinda inappropriate, kid." The older man scolded, hotly, and then moved to help Kady up, but she was having none of it and pushed them both away. It was then that she started clutching at her chest; her eyes widened and got the sensation of an oncoming asthma attack from all the stress; her lungs started to constrict and seized any remaining air they could. Thus began the battle for air, for her. And then she realized she had left her inhaler back in Florida! It was genetic – Lily had it, and now she has it and conveniently it was another aspect of her that Chris didn't know about. Kady's hand gripped his shirt and tugged at him to come closer, and right then he sensed something was wrong.

"Kady? Baby what is it?"

Finding it too difficult to breathe, let alone utter a word, Kady fell back against him and he caught her before she could fall completely back. Danny realized what was going on.

"Shit!" he exclaimed.

"What?"

Danny looked at him, with a certain amount of fear in his eyes. "She has severe asthma."

"Oh great…" Chris complained. What else could go wrong? Lily was on life support; Kady was apparently having an asthma attack. Lucky they were in a hospital, right? "Well where's her inhaler?"

Danny searched Kady's pockets, while Chris held onto her, whispering for her to relax and to take deep breaths. If it was God's intention to take both Lily and Kady away now, then Chris would have no reason to believe in anything anymore. He only had just got his daughter back, and only now were they making any sort of progress to knowing one another.

"Come on, baby breathe… breathe… Danny!"

"It's not here!"

"Go get the nurse!"

Danny then stood up and ran over to the desk about thirty feet down the hall, and Chris sat back holding his child as she struggled even more, this time letting go of his shirt and clawing at his pants. Two nurses, one male and one female, came running out from behind the nurses station, the man saying to the woman to get some medication for the asthma and she went past them into a nearby storeroom. The male nurse got down next to Chris and Kady, and tried to get him to release his grip on her.

"Sir, you need to let her go so we can—"

"Kady," Chris whispered; proceeding to ignore the nurse – his desperation overtaking him past rational thought. "Come on, sweetheart, breathe…" but the nurse now practically ripped the hysterical child from Chris' arms, who was fighting to keep holding her.

"Sir, please! We know what we're doing, we have it under control," the nurse assured him, and then the female nurse returned with what looked to be a standard inhaler they kept.

The male nurse sat Kady up long enough to administer the medicine, which she breathed in, in two breaths, pausing between each one to absorb the benefits of the medicine. A few seconds later, Kady started gasping and relaxed, indicating that the medicine had caused the muscles surrounding her lungs to relax and she drank the air as fast as she could. She sat back down and reached behind her, searching for the obvious person, and when she felt his chest with her hand, he responded by rubbing her back.

"I'm here," he told her.

Kady took the water that the female nurse offered her, and gulped it down like a fish, and waited for the tense aching to disappear.

"How are you feeling?" the male nurse asked. "Better?"

She nodded, in a silent lie to get them to go away. Both nurses reluctantly went back to their station, and Danny helped her to her feet. Chris got up on his own and the racing of his own heart was yet to slow down; the possibility that Kady would've had to be admitted was in his thoughts. Why hadn't Lily mentioned these kinds of things to him earlier?

"Dude, don't you ever do that again!" Danny teased, slapping Kady upside the head. "You almost left me without a fellow outcast."

"Yeah, sorry…" Kady mumbled sarcastically. "Didn't mean to be an imposition, idiot!"

The two best friends moved in the direction of the cold, plastic chairs that were lined up against the wall, when Chris reached out and grabbed her arm as she went past him to get her attention. She stopped and, before she could react in anyway, her much stronger father had locked her into an embrace. Chris was sick of the pretenses; he wanted a real hug from her and was damn sure going to get one after that scare.

"Chris…"

"Shut up and just give me this, kid," he told her. "You scared the hell out of me."

Kady relented and allowed herself to hug him back. Oddly, this embrace felt different to any of the other halfhearted hugs she'd received from him lately. It felt... safe. Shaking herself out of that feeling, Kady finally pushed away and again headed for the chairs.

"Stop. Let's just get out of here, okay? Lily needs rest, you need rest... I need another beer." Chris reasoned. Kady felt the emotion behind his words and nodded, not bothering to disagree with leaving this time. She'd seen Lily, she knew her mother was still alive. For now, that was all she really needed.

"Careful, you may end up stealing the drunken hick gimmick from James. Don't think he'd be too pleased about losing that as well as the titles." Kady smirked, her usual sense of sarcasm returning, along with her breath.

"Smart ass." Chris laughed, putting an arm across Kady's shoulders and heading for the exit, Danny walking beside them.

Once they were back at the house, Chris let Kady and Danny go off and do their own thing. He decided that Kady probably needed time to just chill out. He, on the other hand, needed to talk to someone. Pulling his cellphone from his pocket, he searched the directory, wondering who would understand what he was going through the best. Figuring no one would really have a clue, he chose to call Jarrett to let him know how Lily was doing.

"Jeff Jarrett." Jeff's greeting met his ears a few moments after he'd been listening to call ringing.

"Jeff, it's Chris. Just thought I'd let you know that Lily's woken up. She's still pretty groggy, which is probably down to the meds but... there doesn't seem to be any major head injuries, no memory loss." Chris explained quickly, trying to keep his voice steady.

"That's great news, man. How are you and the kid holding up?" Jarrett wondered.

"Kady had an asthma attack after seeing Lil... probably from stress and everything. She seems to be doing okay now." Chris figured.

"And, you?" Jarrett pushed.

"Uh... not sure. Seeing Lily like that... it's messed up, man. And then Kady having the asthma attack... I didn't even know she had asthma. I've missed out on so much." Chris mused, letting a little more emotion show than he normally would've when talking to Jarrett.

"Chris, look at it this way. You haven't missed out on everything. Lily and the kid need you now... they've got no choice but to accept that you're there. If you work at it, once Lily's back on her feet she might let you stay in their lives." Jarrett tried to advise.

"It's not Lily I'm worried about. Kady's still so angry at me... it's gonna take a while to get any kind of trust between us." Chris replied honestly.

"It'll be worth the hard work. Walking away now would kill any chance you may have, man, you know that." Jarrett reassured him.

"There's no way in hell I'm walking away. Anyway... uh... just thought I'd let you know what's going on. I should go check on Kady, make sure she's breathing alright." Chris made an excuse to end the call, knowing he couldn't take much more emotion or judgment right now. As he was about to go and find Kady, his cellphone started ringing in his hand. He checked the Call ID and wasn't sure whether to groan or not.

"James, what's up?" He answered the call quickly.

"Hey, man. Just thought I'd call in and see how things are going." James told him.

"Are you trying to tell me you miss me?" Chris laughed slightly.

"Nah, man. Just wondered if anything had changed with Lily. I called earlier and Kady told me there was no news... that kid's got a smart mouth on her." James had no way of knowing what his partner's state of mind was at that point, and couldn't see Chris' clouding eyes that could pierce metal. Maybe it was all of the stress from the day that had him on such a fine edge but, whatever it was, he wasn't exactly stable at this moment. But he forced himself to remain calm.

"Yeah, no kidding," he replied through gritted teeth. "She's a handful, but I think she's calming down a bit."

"Honestly dude, she shouldn't be allowed to go off at people the way she does," James was pushing Chris' buttons further and not even knowing it.

"Shut the fuck up, James," he finally snapped angrily, on the other end James jumped – startled at the sudden surge of anger in Chris' voice. "What the hell do you know? Get your head out of your ass – she's been through a lot; she just saw her mother get nailed by a fucking car!"

"Chris, I—"

"Fuck you! You don't know the first thing about her and what she's gone through," Chris secretly wished his tag partner was here right now so he could beat him to a bloody pulp. Where all this anger and adrenaline was coming from, he wasn't sure. He was irrationally angry, and knew who to lay it all out on.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the connection, James flipped the television on while listening to Chris' rants and ramblings, in a state of confusion. He would definitely say that the pressure's finally gotten to Chris Harris, understandably. Just last week they were discussing match strategies for defending their tag team titles. Now Chris had to deal with the pressures of his past stepping into his present. To say that there had been many skeletons in his closet would be a major understatement.

"Chris, stop this shit…" James broke through Chris' yelling.

Back in Kentucky, Chris caught himself before he went off the deep end at his longtime friend and breathed deeply. "I swear to God, you have no idea," he growled.

"Hey… okay, I'm sorry. Jesus, Chris… what the hell?" James softly spoke, the disbelief and shock resonating in each syllable. "I know you've been through a lot, but… you gotta calm down…"

Chris wandered out into the backyard after having taken a beer from the fridge, slamming the back door behind him and walked out to stand in the quietness of the night. It was very clear to see the pain he had; his facial features were speaking of nothing but the heartache that confronting his past had brought to him. Seeing Lily lying there, so vulnerable and so hurt, and then being there to experience Kady going through what looked to have been a severe asthma attack. During those short, few seconds, thoughts of losing his child had crossed his mind.

"Chris? Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

He had spaced out for a few seconds, and the persistent voice of James on the other end of the phone brought him back to reality.

"Man, are you sure you're okay?"

Chris sat down on a chair and dropped his head into the palm of his free hand; using any strength he could to not get emotional over all this. But there was no use in denying the power any longer and he completely broke. He slumped against the back of the chair and could feel the tears become to powerful to hold back – if he tried any longer, they would become painful and he sobbed. James stopped what he was doing, I.E. channel surfing, when he heard the cries through the phone. _Shit_, he thought. He had never, and was pretty sure that no one had ever, seen or heard Chris Harris crying about anything before… this was a whole new emotional playing field now.

"Chris? Holy shit… what's happened to you?"

"Fuck!" the troubled man cried in frustration and gazed up into the dark sky and at the stars that littered the deep infinity of space. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore…"

"I don't know what to tell you…" James replied honestly. He didn't need to see Chris to know that the man had completely broken; the pain he heard in his friend's voice was heart wrenching. It had been less than a week, now, since everything happened and by the sounds of it, things weren't getting any better. "Wow…"

"I don't get it, James. All my life I was convinced I was a good person, and now, in just a week, it's hit me just how much of an asshole I was to the two people I was supposed to love…"

"Whoa, hey now partner don't go starting this self-loathing shit," James jumped in, but knew that Chris had a lot to answer for, and he was now. There wasn't much anyone could do about it; the fact was that Chris did leave his family for the sake of his career, and it couldn't be denied. "They need you more than they're willing to admit. You know they need you…"

"I wasn't there when Kady was losing grip on reality and…" Chris trailed off and looked down at the ground, kicking at the dirt. The more he thought about, the more he began to believe that he honestly did not deserve to be in Kady's life. And it stung because he wanted to be with her and make up for that lost time, though he had given her the reasons to not trust him. "I'm the reason that she did, in the first place…"

"She's a teenager. What are the odds that even if you were there, she would've gone off and done everything you did at her age?" James countered, knowing of the trouble Chris used to get himself into when he was Kady's age. "Somehow I doubt you're the only reason she's as screwed up as she is."

"Me not being there to reign her in has made things worse... trust me. She's made sure to tell me all about it. Fuck. Man, I gotta go. I can't talk anymore." Chris sobbed, ending the call before James could protest in any way. He dropped the phone at his feet and sat with his head in his hands, letting the emotion take him over completely now.

Kady had heard the back door slam and watched out the window of Danny's room as Chris sat down in the chair in the backyard. It wasn't hard for her to see that something was wrong – Chris' shoulders were shaking. A painful feeling started emanating from somewhere deep inside Kady. She got choked up and briefly wondered if she was having another asthma attack. Danny noticed the look on her face and thought the same thing.

"Kady, you okay?" He asked, drawing her attention away from the window.

"No... something's wrong." Kady replied.

"What? Do you need an inhaler?" Danny wondered, jumping off his bed to dig through the draw in his desk. He kept a spare inhaler for her in there, just in case she had an attack while she was at his house.

"No... not with me. Chris." Kady answered, looking back out the window in time to see Chris dropping his cellphone.

As he buried his head in his hands, Kady left the window and ran out of the room. Something wasn't right... she just didn't know what it was. All thoughts about her asthma attack earlier fled her mind as she ran through the living room and the kitchen, then out the back door. She slowed down to a walk as soon as she got close to Chris, not wanting to startle him.

"Um... Chris?" She whispered tentatively, not sure what was going on. She'd been able to hear his sobs as she crossed the yard. Chris looked up in surprise, trying in vain to wipe the tears from his cheeks.

"Kady, baby... go back inside. It's too cold out here for you." He told her, concern for her health showing clearly.

"Screw the cold... are you okay?" She asked seriously, showing him she wouldn't just let him push her aside. She knelt down next to him and tried to look into his eyes. Chris put his hands over his face and let out a deep sigh, trying to gain back control of his emotions.

"Nothing for you to worry about, darlin'. Go on back inside." He spoke from behind his hands, slightly stunned now that Kady was actually there, asking him if he was okay. He didn't want to jump to conclusions but it was a minor sign that maybe she did care about him, after all.

"You want me to walk away? Dude, isn't that your thing?" Kady tried teasing him, hoping to get him to snap out of whatever it was that was bothering him.

"Fine, I'll walk then." Chris decided, getting up and walking down towards the creek.

"Wait, wait! I didn't mean it. Come on, Chris... talk to me... please?" Kady pleaded, following after him, wanting to know what was on her father's mind.

"I can't, Kady. I'm meant to be the adult here... I'm meant to be the one holding things together." Chris told her, avoiding her attempts to get in front of him.

"Dude, things were broken before you got here. No chance you can hold it together all on your own." Kady pointed out.

"Damn it, Kady, just leave it alone! Go back inside." Chris ordered, losing control of his temper slightly.

"Fuck you and your fucking double standards! You want me to give you a chance yet you won't do the same for me? Do you honestly want to spend the rest of your life alone?" Kady challenged, standing her ground.

"Can't you just give me five minutes? Five fucking minutes!" Chris fumed. Kady caught the menace behind his words and backed off.

"Five minutes? Sure that's long enough? Let's try another thirteen years." She spat as she turned and stalked her way back into the house, slamming the door behind her.

"Fuck. Stupid fucking idiot." Chris berated himself, smacking a hand to his own forehead.

For once in the time he'd known her, his daughter had cared about him and he'd thrown it back in her face just as she'd been doing to him to start with. He turned and headed towards the house, stopping briefly to pick up his cellphone. Kady stormed through the house, one destination in mind. She couldn't take this pain anymore, couldn't deal with the things that Chris was putting her through. Danny heard her coming and made his way into the hall, having watched the scene from his window.

"Kady? Everything alright?" He asked hesitantly, slightly nervous about the look on her face.

"I was right. He never fucking wanted me." She stated flatly before pushing past him and heading into the bathroom. Before he could react, Kady had slammed the door and locked it, effectively shutting everything out.

"Shit... Kady, open the door." Danny called, knowing this wasn't a good situation.

Kady made no attempt to reply to her best friend, knowing she'd imposed on him too much over the years. It was time for her to take things into her own hands, and she intended to do it. Searching through the bathroom cabinet, she located an old razor blade. Sliding down to sit with her back against the bathtub, Kady held the razor between her fingers, needing to feel something real... something more than emotion. She ignored Danny banging on the door and slowly dragged the blade across her arm, just below the elbow joint.

As the blood began to flow from the cut, Kady's tears began to fall – not from the physical pain but, because the emotional pain was overflowing. She held back her sobs, drawing the blade across her skin again, then again and again. Her tears were now mixing with the blood, causing it to flow even more than it already was. A particularly large sob overwhelmed her and she dropped the blade on the floor beside her.

"He never wanted me... the bastard never wanted me." Kady sobbed to herself, over and over again as she cradled her bleeding arm in the other one.

Danny heard the sobbing from the other side of the door and pulled on his hair out of stress. He didn't know what to do... he'd never seen Kady this bad before. He'd seen this coming, had tried to warn Chris... wait, that was it!

"Chris! Get in here! Kady's locked herself in the bathroom!" Danny yelled down the hallway, hoping Chris was near enough to the house that he would hear him.

As luck would have it, Chris had just walked into the living room. After hearing Danny's frightened voice calling for help, he ran to the spot in front of the bathroom door where the boy was standing. Danny looked up at him, his usually guarded eyes pleading for him to help.

"I don't know what you said to her but... she thinks you never wanted her. She could be hurt..." Danny stammered, panicking completely.

"Back up." Chris ordered, moving the boy away from the door.

He took a few steps back himself before kicking the bathroom door. The door sounded like it was splintering slightly but the lock held. Chris kicked out at the door again, putting all his weight behind it, determined to get in the room with his daughter. This time, the lock broke free and the door gave way, allowing Chris and Danny to see into the room. Danny backed away, running into the room that housed the toilet and vomiting into the porcelain bowl. Chris stood, stunned for a moment, before moving into the room and kneeling beside his child.

"Aw, Kady... what have you done?" He whispered hoarsely, taking in the sight of the blood dripping from her arm.

"What have I done? I've made the outside show what you can't see on the inside! Now you can see what you've done to me... now you can see how much I hate you!" Kady screamed, hitting out at Chris with both blood covered arms. He caught her arms quite easily, and she yelped in pain and resorted to try kicking him – but he pushed her back so her legs couldn't connect with him. Then, with he let her go just long enough so Kady could lunge at him, but again he was too quick for her and caught her with an arm around her waist.

"Danny, do you got a First Aid kit around here somewhere?"

"LET ME GO, ASSHOLE!" Kady screamed at him, almost kicking Danny accidentally because of her rage, and he jumped out of the way.

"In mom's room," he stammered.

"Well get it then!" Chris ordered, struggling to maintain a good hold on Kady.

Blood was running everywhere; both father and daughter were covered in it, and the mess on the bathroom floor was horrendous. Danny rushed from the room and Chris carried Kady out, into the living room so they would have more room to deal with this. His heart was pounding so hard from everything – her words; her blood that now stained his clothes and his skin as much as it did hers. He put her down on the floor, and within a second Kady had started attacking him again, hitting him as hard as she could with her fists, though her weakening condition made each punch less effective, and she stumbled backwards onto the floor. Now, the physical pain was overwhelming her too much for her to ignore it any longer, and Chris knelt down over her, impatiently waiting for Danny to get here. He saw his daughter weaken considerably from the loss of blood, and so used his hands to cover the wounds. Kady screamed again; the pressure he applied did a little to impede the blood flow, though exacerbated the pain further.

"Get off me, you son-of-a-bitch!" she kicked at him. "I hate you. Go to hell!"

"Hate me all you like," he softly told her and struggled internally to keep his emotions in check. "I know it's my fault, but this isn't the time—"

"No, this is exactly the right time!" Kady spat. "Now you can see what you've done! For thirteen years, this is what you've done to me! I hope you're happy, Chris! You're not my father and you never will be! It's your fault mom almost died! And it's your fault that I wanna die!"

It was as if he had walked straight into a brick wall when she said that last part, and he stopped for a second to register the full meaning and her intent behind them. The coldness of feeling betrayed was shining brighter than the sun through her eyes, more intense now than he had ever seen it. This was it. He had blown it. Chris knew he had lost any chance to make things right between them.

"Here!" Danny rushed into the living room, carrying a relatively small box in his arms, and dropped down next to Chris. Chris opened it and rummaged around for some bandages and anything that could control the wounds. Kady's resistance dropped sharply, and his panic increased when he noticed that her breathing was becoming deeper; sharper. He looked at her and saw her eyes closing – the blood was still flowing strongly and now seeping into the carpet. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't know," Chris replied quickly, and took the wrapping off the rolled up bandage he had found in the kit, using his teeth to break through the stubborn plastic and then pulled it away to reveal a fresh, soft bandage. "There's a couple more in there, get those," he told the boy. Danny didn't hesitate in obliging.

"Come on, baby, stay awake!" Chris pleaded, almost blinded through tears.

It then hit him that they would need to be making a third trip to the hospital that night; this time for Kady. And when Lily would eventually find out, things were going to get even worse. Having no time to go get something to mop up the blood, and seeing how deep the wound was and that the blood was not going to slow down or stop, Chris used his own shirt to try soak up some of the thick crimson liquid. It was still warm against his skin. After clearing the wound of enough blood, he unrolled one of the bandages and started applying it to the large, deep wound which Kady had inflicted on herself. He and Danny watched the blood soak into, and then through the material that was probably not designed to withstand this much blood.

"SHIT! Danny, another one!"

Danny gave him another bandage, and Chris did the same process and then asked for a third one. After the third bandage was applied, the bleeding slowed down and stopped soaking through the material, and they could both breathe a sigh of relief. By this time, however, Kady had grown very weak and was fighting to stay awake. Her dad stopped what he was doing to just look at her... it was truly heartbreaking and he felt his heart shattering in his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Kadence..." he whispered, choked up. "Please, baby... I'm so sorry..."

Kady blinked and turned her head slightly, but did not reply.

"And," Chris continued, grazing her cheek with the back of his hand. "I always wanted you. Always." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, fully aware that she was in no position to push back, or hit him or resist it in any way. Satisfied that she had heard him, Chris then shuffled around her and looked around the room.

"Danny, can you get a blanket or something?"

"Yeah, sure," Danny sure as hell wasn't going to argue with him, and at the same time was wondering how his mother was going to react when she came home to find their house stained with blood. A few seconds passed and he returned from his room with a thin blanket that would do in keeping Kady warm enough. Chris snatched it from his arms, unfolded it and then wrapped it around Kady. Securing the blanket around her body, he then slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back.

"Out to the car, now!" Chris instructed Danny, standing up and lifting Kady until she was resting comfortably in his arms.

Danny led the way out of the house, locking the door once Chris and Kady were out. Chris gently lay Kady across the backseat of the car and he and Danny climbed into the front. Within seconds, Chris had the car started and was heading for the hospital. Chris could tell that Danny was still a little panicked about what was happening with his best friend, so he tried to calm him down.

"She'll be alright, Danny." He offered weakly. Danny saw through the attempt to calm him and nodded vaguely. Chris abandoned the task, knowing he wasn't in any position to be offering that service to anyone, considering how uncertain he was himself.

Once they reached the hospital, Chris carried Kady inside, calling for someone to help them. Danny followed closely behind, still in shock at the whole situation. Before long, an orderly had taken Kady from Chris and rushed her into a doctor's exam room. Chris refused the request to sit in the waiting room and followed after the orderly. Danny, not wanting to be forgotten or left out if something bad happened to Kady, followed after Chris.

Roughly two hours later, Chris quietly slipped out of the hospital room that Kady was in. She and Danny were both sleeping now. Kady had needed surgery to repair a nick in an artery in her arm as well as a small blood transfusion. Because of this, the doctor had told Chris that Kady would need to be there for at least a week, for monitoring. Chris raked a hand through his hair as he mulled over what he should do next. In his heart, he knew that he'd made things a hell of a lot worse for Kady than he'd ever meant to.

Finally deciding on a plan of action, he made his way to Lily's room. Lily was sleeping peacefully when he arrived and he almost backed out before reasoning that she deserved to know what had happened to Kady. He sat down in the chair next to her bed and took her hand in his, wanting to feel something like comfort from her. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb gently.

"Lil? Wake up. Please, Lily..." Chris whispered, his voice catching in his throat. Lily must've only been dozing because she came out of it rather quickly.

"Chris? What's going on? Why... why are you covered in blood?" Lily wondered, focusing on the bloodstained shirt he was wearing.

"Something happened, Lil... I fucked up." Chris admitted honestly, tears starting to slide down his cheeks.

"What? Where's Kady?" Lily asked, the panic rising in her chest.

"She's been admitted. I brushed her off earlier and she got upset... she cut herself, Lil... there was so much blood..." Chris stammered, trying to keep the images of Kady with blood pouring from her arm out of his head.

"Please tell me you're kidding... this isn't funny, Chris." Lily told him, trying to sit up which only resulted in pain. Chris lifted his head, staring Lily straight in the eye.

"She thinks I never wanted her. I've lost her, Lil... I pushed her away." He sobbed. Lily moved her arm slightly, managing to pull her hand free from Chris'.

"I have to see her. I have to see my baby." She stated, fighting the pain as she tried desperately to get out of bed. Hard to do with a concussion, three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a leg in plaster from the thigh down. Chris got to his feet and put his hands on her shoulders gently to stop her.

"You're not in any shape to get out of bed. Danny's with her, she's not going anywhere for a few days. Please, Lil... just stop." Chris pleaded, not wanting her to get hurt any worse than she already was.

"Fuck you, Chris! She's my daughter! I have to see her." Lily reiterated. Chris sat on the bed next to her, still pinning her down at the shoulders.

"You're right, she's your daughter. I never should've stepped in, Lily... I've ruined everything. I... I can't take this... I have to go." He told her before letting her go and walking out of the room.

Chris made his way out to his car, tears still running in rivers down his cheeks. He'd never meant for it to come to this. Now, in the short time that he'd been back in Lily and Kady's life, they'd both ended up in hospital because of him. Chris drove back to the motel and sat in the cat for a while, trying to pull himself together. He went up to his room, changed his clothes and packed up, not planning on sticking around. As he went back down to load up the car, he looked over towards the diner where Jenna was working.

"Fuck..." He muttered, remembering that he'd left Jenna's house a blood soaked mess.

Figuring the least he could do would be to tell her about what had happened and where Danny was, Chris locked up the car again and walked over to the diner. The bell above the door jingled as he walked in, catching a few people by surprise. They looked up, briefly, before returning to their food or mugs of coffee. Jenna smiled at him as he approached the counter.

"Hey, stranger. What can I get ya?" She asked cheerfully before she noticed his tear streaked face.

"Nothing. I just came to... shit. Something happened at the house a couple of hours ago. I upset Kady and she... she, um... she cut herself. Pretty bad, too." Chris explained, fresh tears springing to his eyes.

"Oh my god. Is she okay?" Jenna wondered, walking around the end of the counter to stand in front of Chris.

"No. She needed surgery, a blood transfusion. Doctor says she has to stay in the hospital for monitoring. Danny's there with her. I just came to tell you that I kind of left your place in a mess... there's blood everywhere. And that... I'm leaving." Chris admitted, trying to control his emotions.

"Excuse me? You're what?" Jenna asked in shock.

"I'm leaving, Jen. I never should've forced my way into Lily and Kady's lives in the first place. If I hadn't, none of this would've happened. They wouldn't both be in hospital right now. I've fucked up completely." Chris told her. Jenna's hand shot out and hit Chris upside his head.

"Leaving would be you fucking up completely. Whatever happened with Kady, it can be sorted out. She's been heading down that path for a long time, Chris. It just goes to show you that she needed you... she needed you to make her feel something, anything! You got through to her like no one other than Danny has been able to. If you walk away now, there'll be no turning back." Jenna warned.

"It's too late... she thinks I never wanted her and I all but proved it by pushing her away earlier. It wouldn't have killed me to just talk to her but... I pushed her away. There's no way she'll forgive me now... no way I'll forgive myself. I almost killed my own child... fuck..." Chris trailed off as he turned and walked away from Jenna and out of the diner.

* * *

**A/N:** You think that's bad? There's still heaps more torture to come! YAY! Lol. Please leave a review, it would be greatly appreciated. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** Hey, look, I get to post another chapter! Lizzie is currently using headless Barbie dolls as arrows in her archery lesson so I've been given the chance to put up chapter 10. Um... not much else to say except... thanks for the reviews and... we rule! (I joke... because I can.) Anyway, read on and let us know what you think of this chapter. There's loads more emotion coming your way so... be warned. **_Phoenix_**

**_

* * *

_**

He made his way back to the motel and unlocked his car with shaking hands. Once he was in the confines of the vehicle, he pulled his cellphone from his pocket and found James' number before pressing the call button. Before long, his friend's voice rang out over the line.

"Chris? Dude... what's going on? You fucking hung up on me earlier." James protested.

"Shut up and listen. I'm on my way to the airport now. I'll catch the next available flight to Orlando. See you soon." Chris told his partner quickly, fighting to control his voice. James could sense something wasn't right though.

"What? And what about Lily and Kady? You're just gonna leave them both in Kentucky? Who's going to look after the kid while Lily's in hospital?" He questioned, never knowing his friend to be irresponsible.

"Kady's in hospital now, too. I fucked everything up, man. I just want to get back to work and let them get on with their lives without me, they'd be better off." Chris told him.

"Uh.. back up, here. You're not making any sense, man. What happened to the kid? Did you finally snap and beat some sense into her?" James tried to joke.

"Fuck off! I'd never lay a had on her, never! I... she tried talking to me after I hung up on you earlier and I brushed her off. She got upset, took it as me saying that I'd never wanted her or whatever. She locked herself in the bathroom and cut herself." Chris explained.

"Shit. Is she alright?" James asked, now regretting joking about the situation.

"Of course she's not. She needed surgery to repair an artery in her arm, as well as a blood transfusion. The doctor wants to keep her in for a week. I told Lily about it and she tried to get out of bed... I've screwed everything up, man. I've lost everything." Chris sobbed, banging a hand on the steering wheel.

"Chill, man... just calm down. You haven't lost everything. She's still alive, so is Lily. You've just got to work harder now, that's all. Leaving won't do any of you any good." James assured his teammate.

"How the fuck is Kady supposed to forgive me for causing this? Even if she does, Lily won't. This proves that Kady was better off without me, man. It proves that Lily was right all along. She was right in keeping Kady from me. What kind of father am I?" Chris gave in to the emotions he'd been trying to hold back and leaned back in the driver's seat.

"Hate to break it to you, man, but you're the only one she's got. If you leave now, you won't get another shot at the whole fatherhood thing. You can do this, Chris, I know you can." James encouraged, worrying about his friend's state of mind.

"It's too late... I've caused too much pain, man... I'm in too much pain, myself. I just... I wanna get out of here." Chris told him.

"Damn it, Harris. Fine... get your ass back here so I can kick it." James finally relented, knowing that Chris probably just needed some space to clear his head.

"Feel free. Can you pick me up from the airport? I probably shouldn't drive in this state, man." Chris queried, feeling a little better now that James had taken the time to hear him out.

"Yeah, call me when you land." James agreed. They said their goodbyes and Chris ended the call, dropping his phone to his lap before starting the engine.

Around 2am, Kady woke and tried to work out where she was. The smell of disinfectant assaulted her nostrils and that, coupled with the bareness of the room she was in told her that she was in the hospital. Her arm was heavily bandaged and a low ache emanated from it. Kady groaned and rolled over slightly, coming almost face to face with Danny who'd woken a little earlier.

"Hey... you okay?" He whispered, not wanting to scare his friend.

"No... I fucking hate hospitals." Kady mumbled.

"Should've thought about that before you tried killing yourself then." Danny smirked.

"I didn't try to kill myself. I just wanted the pain to stop." Kady retorted seriously. Danny leaned back slightly.

"So... now what?" He mused, wondering if Kady would think about what her life with Chris was going to be like after her little stunt.

"I don't know. I just know that Chris can fuck off and die as far as I'm concerned." Kady replied, venom dripping from her words.

"You can't blame this on him. It was your choice to pick up the razor, Kady, he didn't force you to." Danny stated firmly. From what he'd seen of Chris, he knew the guy was just trying to help Kady, trying to be a father to her. He kind of respected him for that.

"Fuck you! He didn't exactly give me a reason not to! I hate him, Danny. I truly hate him for what he's done to me." Kady sobbed, the emotion wearing her out already, given her weakened state.

"You don't mean that. Things were getting better between you guys. This is just another bump in the road for you both to get over." Danny figured.

"I don't want to get over it. I don't want him near me again, ever." Kady cried.

"Well, I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Hey, son." Jenna smiled at Danny as she entered the room that they were in.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Danny wondered, getting up to give his mother a hug. He kind of needed one, after the night he'd had.

"Chris stopped past the diner to tell me what had happened. Said the house was a mess and that he was leaving." Jenna explained. Danny looked up at her, remembering the state of the bathroom when Chris had broken through the door.

"Good riddance." Kady spoke up quietly. Danny looked back at her and shook his head.

"I can't believe you'd say that! After everything he's tried to do... you say you weren't trying to kill yourself yet it was Chris that saved your life. Think about that." Danny told her before walking out of the room to cool down.

"It was him that ruined my life in the first place! Fuck him!" Kady called after him. Jenna sat down in the chair that Danny had vacated and stared intently at Kady.

"You know, there was a time when I hated your parents with a passion. I used to reduce Lily to tears at least once a week. And the one thing I learned from that is that Chris is a good guy. Sure, he used to get in my face about what I was doing to Lily but it was because he genuinely cared about her. He'd always go after her, always. Now, for you to lie there and say that he ruined your life after everything he's tried to do for you, I'm honestly stunned, Kady. He has tried so hard to get you to let him in and you've fought him the whole way. The Chris I saw tonight at the diner didn't much resemble the guy that used to get in my face. You've broken him completely, Kady. I hope you're happy." Jenna told her, hoping that the girl heard every word.

"He doesn't care about me! Never has and never will!" Kady countered.

"Why should he? It's obvious you could care less about him. At least he tried, Kady. What have you done, other than fight him and your mother at every turn?" Jenna pointed out.

"I tried! I tried tonight and he pushed me away!" Kady replied heatedly.

"Yes, and he knows that was wrong. You didn't give him a chance to make it right. You shut him out in the most violent way possible." Jenna told her, motioning to her bandaged arm.

"Leave me alone." Kady replied, closing her eyes and rolling away from Jenna as much as she could.

"Fine, Kady. Keep shutting people out. Soon you won't have anyone left at all. Hope you'll be happy then." Jenna said sadly as she got to her feet and went to join Danny in the hall. Kady's sobbing soon greeted their ears and Jenna put her arms around her son, stopping him from going back into the room.

"Come on, son. Let's go see how much we can clean up at home." She sighed. Danny nodded reluctantly and let his mother lead the way down the hall.

"Can we go see Lily first? I don't know if she knows about Kady." Danny queried.

"Sure. You know where her room is?" Jenna wondered. Danny nodded and led the way to Lily's room. When they got there, he knocked on the door lightly before they walked in.

"Oh, Danny. Thank god you're okay. How's Kady doing? Any news?" Lily asked, happy to see someone that might be able to tell her how her daughter was doing since she couldn't get out of bed to go see for herself.

"You know?" Danny asked, confused for a moment.

"Chris came in and told me. Have either of you seen him? He was kind of upset and I think I made things worse." Lily mused.

"He's gone, Lil. He came into the diner and told me what had happened and that he didn't think either of you would forgive him. He was a total mess." Jenna told her. The pain that came over Lily's face upon hearing those words was visible, even to Danny.

"He... he left? Did he tell Kady he was going?" Lily wondered, thinking about how upset it would've made Kady.

"No, he didn't tell either of us. Mom said he'd gone when she came in but Kady didn't care. She says she hates him and never wants him near her again." Danny answered.

"Damn it!" Lily vented, once again trying to get out of bed. It wasn't long before she lost her breath and had to give up.

"Calm down. I think Kady just needs time to realize that Chris honestly does care about her. She needs to think things through, ya know? Once everyone's cooled off, you can try again." Jenna figured.

"You honestly think she'll give him another chance? Because I know how much she was against it this time. God, I wish I could go back in time and change everything!" Lily fumed. She hated not being able to go and comfort her daughter, hated the fact that she hadn't been able to stop Chris leaving.

"Lily, honestly, they were getting along okay earlier. Then, something happened with Chris and Kady tried to talk to him about it and he just... I dunno, brushed her off, I guess. She came inside upset and... I think I'm going to be sick again." Danny trailed off, remembering the scene in the bathroom more vividly. He ran out of the room and headed for the nearest men's room.

"Poor kid. I'm so sorry he had to see it... I wish there was something I could do." Lily said sadly, watching after Danny.

"Actually, I'm glad he got to see it. It'll stop him thinking about trying to do the same thing. He'll be okay, although we've still got the task of cleaning up the blood before us." Jenna remembered.

"Oh, god. I'm so sorry, Jen. I'll pay for... whatever needs to be done. You shouldn't have to deal with this." Lily knew, putting her face in her hands.

"Hey, let's just think of it as Kady getting back at me for all those years I harassed you. We're even, yeah?" Jenna offered. Lily looked up at her and smirked.

"You think a little blood on your carpet is going to make us even? Keep dreaming." She joked. Both women were laughing as Danny returned.

"So, that's what laughter sounds like. I'd almost forgotten." He mused. Jenna shoved him lightly before wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Come on, boy. We'd better let Lily get some rest now. And you're going to bed when we get home, too." Jenna warned.

"What about cleaning up?" Danny reminded. Jenna ruffled his hair with her free hand and he pushed it away.

"I'll do it. You've had enough to deal with." She told him. Danny nodded and they said goodbye to Lily before leaving the hospital completely.

Chris dozed in and out of consciousness on the flight back to Orlando. He was worn out both physically and emotionally. All he wanted was to figure out how to breathe again without his heart feeling like it was going to jump out of his chest. He hated himself for what he'd done to Kady, to his daughter, his little princess. Well, maybe he couldn't quite call her that yet, but that's what she'd been to him when she was a baby. His little princess. And now he'd let her down... again.

When the plane landed in Orlando, Chris disembarked with the other passengers, pulling a baseball cap down lower over his eyes. He wasn't in any sort of mood to be stopped by fans and was pretty sure he'd hurt someone if it did happen. After finding his stuff at the baggage claim, Chris made his way outside and pulled his cellphone from his pocket. He hit the button to call James and held the phone to his ear.

"Mm... James here." A groggy voice answered.

"It's Chris. I'm at the airport now. Want me to just get a cab?" Chris wondered, guessing that his friend had been sleeping.

"No, man. I'll come get ya. I was just sleeping off a bit of the booze." James replied.

"See ya when you get here, then. I'm waiting out front." Chris farewelled before ending the call, hanging up on James yet again.

He found a bench to sit on and waited, hoping James wasn't intoxicated to the point that his driving would be impaired. The last thing anyone needed was for James to get into an accident or get picked up for driving drunk. Chris was pretty sure TNA management would can the whole AMW gimmick, if not fire both of them, if that happened. The way he was feeling right now, that would be the icing on the cake.

Around half an hour later, James pulled up to the curb in front of the bench that Chris was sitting at. Chris picked up his stuff and walked over to the car, James getting out to meet him.

"Dude... you look like shit." He smiled, pulling Chris into a manly hug.

"You're one to talk, you reek of beer. Hope there's some left for me." Chris told him.

"Want me to stop and get a box on the way back to the hotel?" James wondered, knowing there weren't many left in the box he had.

"Nah, forget it. Drinking in my mood would be a bad fucking idea." Chris decided, throwing his bags into the backseat of the car.

James nodded and watched Chris get into the passenger's seat. It wasn't hard to tell that the guy had changed. He was pretty sure that only time would tell how much of a change there was, though. He ran around to the driver's side and climbed in next to his friend.

Chris remained quiet throughout the drive back to the hotel. He knew he owed James more of an explanation about what had happened in Kentucky but he didn't even know where to start. Thankfully, James hadn't asked him anything or pushed him into talking about it. Once they got to the hotel, James carried on of Chris' bags for him up to the room they were sharing. When they were inside and the door was closed, Chris threw the bag he was holding against a wall with quite a bit of force. That seemed to be all the energy he could muster, however, as he sank down onto the couch moments later.

"What the fuck am I gonna do?" Chris whispered, replaying his last conversations with Kady, Lily and Jenna in his head. He hadn't even said goodbye to Kady... hadn't told her he was leaving.

"You're going to clear your head, chill here for a few days and then you're going to call the hospital and talk to your kid." James told him matter-of-factly.

"And what am I supposed to say to her? 'Gee, kid, I'm sorry I fucked up your life. Hope you don't hate me.' Somehow, I don't think that's gonna cut it." Chris fumed. James sat down on the couch across from Chris and stared at him.

"Tell her the truth. Tell her you have no idea what the hell you're doing but that you're still willing to try and be a part of her life, if she'll let you." He shrugged.

"She'd laugh and tell me to go to hell, not for the first time either." Chris reasoned, knowing enough about his daughter now to be able to guess how she'd react to him.

"Fine. Don't call her. Let her think you've had enough of her. Let what Lily said about you be right." James agreed, remembering what Lily had said Chris would do when he'd had enough.

"What? What do you mean 'let what Lily said about me be right'?" Chris asked, looking James in the eye.

"Before you guys went to Kentucky, I was trying to convince Lily that she should give you a chance to get to know Kady. She said you'd walk away again once you got bored of playing daddy. Looks to me like she's right." James explained.

"Fuck you! I didn't get bored of playing daddy, James. I just realized that I'm messing her life up worse than what it already was. I can't do that to her anymore! If she wants to give me another chance then, it's up to her, she can come to me. I'm not going to force anything anymore." Chris decided.

"And calling her to see how she's doing would be forcing it?" James questioned.

"Yes. No... fuck, I don't know. If you're so concerned, why don't you fucking call her?" Chris yelled at his friend before getting up and going into his bedroom and slamming the door. James watched after him and shook his head, unsure of what to do to help his friend. Deciding he couldn't do anything more tonight, he headed for his own room, stripped down to his boxers and climbed back into his bed.

Chris sat on his bed and buried his face in his hands. The complexity and fragility of the situation was taking its toll, in a twisted turn of events he never thought his life would take. The images of Kady sitting in a pool of blood, all the while screaming how much she hated him and how he destroyed her life – it was emotionally crippling. Under all the makeup, dark clothes, and hellacious attitude she had, Kady was a beautiful child who had lost her way and was now travelling a dangeous road to self destruction. In Chris' mind, it was because of him. As much as Kady must've been screwed up before he arrived, now he had exacerbated things to the point where she might not be able to be saved. His body tensed as the pain of it all took hold.

"What the hell do I do now...?" he whispered in the dark silence of his room. He slid under the sheets of the bed, knowing full well that there wouldn't be much chance of a descent night's sleep that night.

Back in Kentucky, Kady was now alone in her hospital room. With the medication, she was no longer feeling the physical pain, though her conscience was torturing her mercilessly. There was nothing she could do about it, given that all the meds made her weaker than a kitten, so she'd have to lie there and endure the mental anguish, which she believed was caused by Chris. Kady hated hospitals with a passion; the sickening oder of death mixed with anesthetics; the sounds of doctors rushing to the aid of accident victims or victims of illness or violence, in vain attempts to rid people of their ailments. It was all too depressing for her, a teenage girl whom had practically tried to take her own life only a few hours before. The thing is, no one had even gotten to her like Chris had. She had never experienced that kind of emotional response with anyone, and that's what rocked her to the emotional core.

Kady looked up at the clock on the wall, which now read 5:36 AM. She hadn't gotten much sleep, only via that from surgery, and even the drug-induced sleep she was in wasn't the most pleasent or comfortable. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to leave everything behind. Her mother. Chris. Everyone who made her life more difficult. Even Danny and Jenna were starting to step on her nerves, and she didn't mind not seeing them again for a while either.

"What do they know?" she whispered, as if trying to assure herself that she was right and everyone else was wrong. "None of them know... they can all go to hell."

It was hard for Kady, being only fourteen years old and subjected to the mess that had now consumed her entire life. School. Being a regular kid. None of it mattered to her anymore, nor would it until all of this was settled. Though if she would see Chris Harris again, it would be too soon. And she was convinced that after all of what happened in the last week, the last thing Lily would do was go back to that damn job in TNA. She stared at the heavy bandages that now covered her entire arm and sighed. _If only I had gone a bit deeper... then i probably wouldn't be here to feel the pain..._ in her state of depression, such thoughts were not new to her. All her life she had wanted to know who her father was, and now she knew him, it made her world all the more complicated and painful, not less. _It would've been easier if he was an alcoholic or locked in prison somewhere..._ her mind mused, in a taunting manner. _Then it would be so much easier to forget him..._

Over the years Kady had comforted herself for not having a father with ideas that maybe he wasn't a quality person at all, which would justify her hate for him and why he wasn't in her life. Meeting Chris had challenged all those emotional safeguards and walls she had built up. In fact, he had smashed right through those preconceptions she had of him and for a while there, she had felt it becoming easier to be around him. And she felt safe. Kady hated herself for being so weak as to let her guard down around him, thinking that he wouldn't hurt her. The fact that she had shown weakness around him was enough to invoke bitterness and self-loathing.

"I hate him..." she whispered again, tearfully. "I hate him..."

Her heart was being torn to shreads all over again, just like it had on her tenth birthday when the reality at the time hit her that her father wasn't coming to get her. Gazing around the bland, dull hospital room and the machines that were keeping her pain at bay, Kady was able to take in the full scope – the intensity – of what had happened to her and Lily. More drama than she would never hope to see again in her life. If there was ever a time when she actually wanted to be with her mother, this was it... at least Lily would know what to do. At least Lily wouldn't leave her.

Three hours had now passed, and it was fast approaching 9:00 AM, and while nurses had come in and out regularly to check on her, Kady was mostly left to herself. And the mental torture was not letting up at all, and tears kept flowing in cycles. She'd calm down for a while before the memories lashed out again and pushed her over the edge.

"Hey sweetie," one of the nurses entered the room to make the hourly check on her. The middle-aged woman smiled, pleasently, despite the not-so-nice attitude she and the other staff members had often got from this particular patient. She walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. "Did you sleep well?"

Kady replied grumpily with a small grunt, but enough to tell the nurse her answer, and closed her eyes. She didn't want to be bothered by the feigned cheeriness of hospital stuff, who in reality didn't give a damn about her.

"How are you feeling? Any better?"

"No."

"Oh dear," the nurse walked up to the side of her bed and started checking the machines. "That's no good. Do you need me to get you anything?"

Kady replied with only a singular-worded response, "Food."

The nurse chuckled and kept inspecting the equipment. "Soon, darlin', the doctor will be here in five minutes, just to give you a check, and then the orderlies will be bringing breakfast round. That sound good to you?"

"Whatever."

"My, my, so cheery," the lady smiled and patted Kady's leg. "Well hopefully you'll be feelin' better soon."

She left the room, but Kady wasn't alone for long and before she knew it, a man who looked to be in his late thirties or so and wearing a white coat entered the room. She rolled her eyes at the thought of being poked and prodded with needles while listening to the same bullshit comfort words that had no impact on her anymore.

"Hello, Kadence," he smiled at her, looking up from his clipboard. "You're looking much better this morning."

"As opposed to me almost bleeding to death?" she countered, sarcastically. "Then I suppose you're right."

The doctor ignored her and rounded the end of her bed to walk up and stop just beside her. He started checking out her physical recovery, by checking her breathing and taking her temperature. Normally Kady wouldn't need much of an invitation to resist or cause trouble, but given the fatigue and weakness she was experiencing, she didn't give him too many problems.

"Well," the doctor spoke up a couple minutes later. "Everything seems to be progressing as normal. You're very lucky, you know that?"

Kady groaned. "No, I don't. But I'll suppose you tell me."

The doctor sighed and rubbed his forehead. He had to pull a double shift today, so he was in no mood to get into an argument with the kid. "It's mandatory for the hospital to provide counselling services to patients who attemped suicide. In about an hour you'll be visited by a child psychologist. Her name's Mary Taylor, and—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Kady interrupted. "I don't need a fucking shrink!"

"Well, unfortunately for you, you're going to get one. Hospital policy. If you were over eighteen you could refuse it, but unless you have a parent or guardian to sign a waver then you have to have this consultancy," he explained.

"But I wasn't trying to kill myself!" Kady whined, protesting the need for a psychologist to come in and tell her about why she was so screwed up. She didn't need it because she already knew the cause... Chris Harris.

"I'm sorry, Kadence. But I must insist that you have this appointment; she's very qualified."

"But my mom's in hospital in intensive care and my dad—" Kady stopped when she realised she had just called Chris her 'dad'. She felt like she swallowed paint or something. "... he's left."

"Then I'm afraid you'll have to go through with it, Miss Myers," the doctor stressed and turned to leave. "Right now you're progress is where we expect it to be; you should make a full recovery. Wait... did you say your mother is an admitted patient?"

Kady shrugged and nodded. "Apparently you people don't talk to each other much. Idiots. She was in a car accident yesterday. She'll sign off on me not needing a shrink..." she paused to think about that for a moment, before adding, "... on second thought, maybe not."

The doctor frowned and made a note on his clipboard to check out the status of Lily Myers. Something had to be wrong with this family situation if both mother and daughter were in hospital, for two entirely separate reasons. And the father was in the picture, but left? This raised several troubling questions in the experienced doctor's mind and he left the room to make haste with his observations. Kady settled against her pillow and continued to mope, muttering unfriendly words about the doctor, and how unfair she was being treated. The usual teenage stuff.

At the same time, the doctor briskly walked down the hospital corridor and stepped into the nurses station a few seconds later, where two female nurses sat at their desks, going over medical files.

"Good morning, Doctor Sanders," one of the nurses, Emma Wilson, greeted with a warm smile.

"Hi, doctor," the other one, Maggie, chimed in but didn't look up from her work. The doctor, still flipping through the pages on his clipboard, barely looked up from his work either and picked up a file that was on Emma's desk, and extended it to her.

"Hello," he returned the greeting to both of them. "Nurse, will you do me a favour? Check the log book for accident victims reported as being admitted yesteday. Under the name 'Myers'."

"Sure," Emma replied and took the file from him, somewhat eager to momentarily break away from typing up a report for the file of a seven-year-old male patient who had died the night before. Doctor Sanders leaned against the wall, still in a state of mixed confusion and concern. The attitude that Kady Myers had shown him, plus the severity of her injuries, and when she talked about her parents... well, it would be enough to gain any halfway competent physician's attention.

"Uh, okay here we go," Emma spoke up a couple minutes later. "There was a code blue emergency admission. Lily Myers, 32 years old. Suffered severe head, chest, and leg wounds plus several severe lacerations and internal bruising following a motor vehicle accident yesterday." She turned the file around and held it to Doctor Sanders, who took the file and skimmed through it. At the same time he was holding Kady's medical file, and he opened it to check her records. He then found what he was looking for. Under the listing for 'father', it read: Chris Harris. A gut feeling it was, and as a doctor, he experienced many of them, but somehow he felt like this was a situation worth looking into.

"Nurse Wilson?"

"Yes, doctor?"

"Dr. Mary Taylor is on her way to speak with Kady Myers, I need you to request that if she can, to please pay a visit to her mother, Lily Myers. It's important."

Emma was hesitant but nonetheless, she nodded in agreement. "Okay."

"Also, one other thing..."

"Sure..."

"I need you to call social services. Inform them that there might possibly be a case of abuse."

Exactly one hour later, Kady sighed with frustration and looked away; she couldn't stand to look at the pretentious, probably fake facial features of the lady sitting before her. Doctor Taylor was nice enough, though Kady believed that she was a condesending bitch who didn't give a damn about anyone or anything except getting paid for her 'services'. _In which case she should've become a hooker,_ Kady thought, maliciously.

"Kadence? Let me start off by saying feel free to talk with me about whatever comes to your mind. I'm here to help."

"Sure, help your bank balance," Kady muttered under her breath. "Bitch."

"What was that?" Doctor Taylor asked, not catching what she had said.

"Forget it, nothing," she told her. "What do you want to know? So we can get this over with..."

"Well... why don't you tell me about why you're here? What happened?"

"I think it's pretty obvious, don't you?" Kady was being intentionally difficult. This bitch was getting more annoying by the second. "I mean, I bled out quite a lot, you know. Though I suppose you read the report."

"Indeed, I did," The doctor replied, making notes as she spoke. "And I saw a lot more there than just the physical injuries, Kadence."

"Oh?"

"Yes. You inflicted these injuries on yourself; now that tells me that you felt like you needed a way out. That there is some underlying cause of your emotional pain that made you lash out physically, to help control it," Mary relayed her inital findings to the obnoxious child.

"Wow, you're good. Earning every cent," Kady spat. "I wasn't trying to kill myself, lady."

"But you wanted the pain to end?"

"That's right."

"Would you mind telling me about that?"

"Actually, yes I would mind. And I'm tired, so I wanna sleep. You can go now," Kady gestured to the door, hoping this lady would take the hint and get lost.

"You know I can't. You know why I'm here. Can you at least tell me why you felt the need to physically deal with the emotional pain?" Mary remained calm, having dealt with many troubled children in her sixteen years as a children's mental health professional.

"What the fuck would you know, lady?" Kady hissed. "Why do you care?"

"Because, Miss, it might help your parents and you to understand why you did this to yourself."

"My parents know why," Kady told her, not relenting for a second. "And I don't see how it's any of your business, so back off!"

"But I want to understand if you know why you did it," Mary pressed, softly. "Please, Kadence. I promise it'll be okay, and that no one can hurt you now..."

"What do you mean by _that_?" Kady queired, raising an eyebrow at the doctor's choice of words.

"All I'm saying is that you might feel better if you talk to me about it. Have you been having troubles at home?"

The teen snorted and stifled the urge to burst out laughing. "That's an understatement."

"Uh huh..." Mary grew increasingly weary of this child's attitude; proving herself to be a bit more of a challenge than Doctor Sanders had described earlier that morning. She and he were friends from college, so she agreed to come in at his request. And then, on arrival to the hospital, one of the nurses informed her that Doctor Sanders suspected some sort of abuse going on within the family circle, in which she may need to keep in mind. "Well, why don't you talk to me about your parents then. How do you get along with them?"

"I don't." Kady stated. "What's your god damn point?"

"I see," Mary made some more notes and then looked up. "What about your father? What can you tell me about him?"

"If I actually knew much about him, I'd be happy to oblige," Kady unwittingly was giving the doctor more insight into her troubled mind, but even if she did know what she was saying she wouldn't have cared. All she wanted was for this lady to go away and not come back, though had the distinct feeling that such a desire would not come to fruition. "I still don't see what you're getting at."

"Earlier today you told Doctor Sanders that your dad had left. Does that mean he was here?"

"For a bit. The bastard then decides to leave me again, which he told me he wouldn't do. So I just think who the hell cares? I don't. I survived thirteen years without him, I think I'm able to get along in life without him."

"So you grew up without your father around?"

"Didn't I just say that?" Kady retorted, angrily. All her feelings about Chris were resurfacing now, and she couldn't stop herself from releasing that anger. Mary noted her reactions, both physiologically and emotionally.

"When did he come back into your life?"

"You mean, when did he decide to fuck up my mom's and my lives? Last week. He didn't even recognise me at first. Mom got a job in TNA, where he works. I literally enough ran into him, and the rest is history as they say... or whatever..." she yawned and looked at the clock again. Approaching 10 AM now. Time was slowing down again, for her anyway.

"TNA?"

"I dunno what it stands for. It's a wrestling company of sorts, or something. Chris is a wrestler."

Mary seemed surprised at this revelation (but who wouldn't be?), and her hand moved quickly across the page; her mind spinning with notes and possible cases that could fit the one she was handling now. Her hand started to ache in its rush to catch up with the speed of her brain. Kady watched her, intently, curious as to what she was writing but was too lazy to try find out.

"How did you find out that he was your father?" Mary continued her questions.

"I know I'm not 'Little Miss Social Butterfly'," Kady smirked, somewhat satisfied. "I ran into Chris and his drunk tag team partner. We didn't exactly get along. So later on, I was pissed off at mom for some reason, I can't remember why. Anyway, we were at a TNA venue thingy that day and when mom was busy I slipped out and caught the bus back to our shitty new house not too far away. I went upstairs to find out some of my art stuff that was still packed away, and I came across mom's old year book. Low and behold I saw _his_ picture in there, too. But then a photo slipped out; of all three of us when I was a baby. Needless to say, I was pissed." Kady's tone darkened, as did her expression... if she wasn't physically incapable of moving, it might even have been quite intimidating to Mary.

"And then what happened?" the doctor pressed, now personally curious to what happened. "Did you confront them?"

"Me? Confront? Not unless I have to. I've always tried avoiding mother as best I could... the only reason we've been able to tolerate each other for so long is the few words we exchange," Kady found herself relaxing more into telling this stranger what had happened. It surprised even herself with the fact that now she was becoming more open about it. "No, I hopped on a bus and headed back here to Kentucky, where I grew up. This is my home. Florida is a piece of shit. I hated it there. So... when I get to this diner, the fucking coach left without me! Can you believe that?"

She brushed some hair from her face and picked up the plastic cup of water that was by her side. After taking a few sips, she set it back down and cleared her throat. Kady hadn't meant to divulge into a lengthy detail about how she ended up hear, but it was sort of helping!

"So, anyway," she continued. "I decide to hitch the rest of the way to Kentucky. I know, you're thinking why the hell I would do such a fucked up thing, right? So this dude pulls up and offers me a ride. He's totally freaky looking, and I should love that, right? Because I'm into the whole goth thing. But since I decided to use common sense to get to Kentucky _alive_, I declined and so this other guy rocks up. He's cool looking; clean cut and all and so I go with him. Only, I get to learn the oh so important lesson my mother tried to teach me when I was a kid."

"And what's that?" Mary was becoming more enthralled with this girl's tale, a tragic one it was sounding more like.

"Looks can be deceiving. He tried to get into my pants," Kady explained. She was nonchalant about it, like speaking about it wasn't a big deal to her, which took Mary by surprise. "But the first dude who had pulled up to give me a ride, Sterling, and he beat the shit out of the guy. Turns out he had been tailing us. Why, I don't know. But he got me here, anyway. So when we get here, mom and Chris were here! And we went into a screaming match, and mom slapped me and—"

"Wait! She slapped you?" Mary interrupted, concerned that Doctor Sander's guessing of abuse may be right. From everything that Kady was telling her so far, all signs were pointing to far less than desirable circumstances for a child to be living in.

"Yeah. I had pissed her off, and she grabbed my arm and slapped me. So anyways, wrapping up this epic tale, mom gets hit by a car while trying to stop me from walking away," It was at this point when the emotion returned to her, as the images of seeing her mother lying on the road, bleeding, came crashing back. She swallowed the lump in her throat just as a tear fell from her eye.

"Do you wanna stop?" Mary asked.

"No, it's ok," Kady sobbed, wiping her eyes. "And... I dunno what happened after that, between me and Chris, it was like... like I was seeing him in a whole new light? Something terrible happened, and he didn't run away. He stayed with me and wouldn't leave... and I started thinking, 'Maybe he is for real', you know? And as much as I screamed that I hated him, and tried to push him away... he didn't..." Kady trailed off, losing herself to thought. It hit her that Danny and Jenna were right. Chris didn't leave, even when she was hitting him and spewing the most hateful words at him. He still didn't leave.

"He didn't what?"

"He didn't leave me..." Kady whispered. "I... I can't explain it... I just felt so hurt by him for so long, it was hard to accept the idea that maybe he really did care. And... later that night, at Danny's house – he's my best friend – anyway, I looked outside, and Chris was really upset. I went out to see if he was okay, and he kinda brushed me off. I got real mad. I didn't even give him a chance to make it right, or apologise... so I ran inside and into the bathroom, and I started cutting myself. Because I thought he never wanted me. I just wanted the pain to end, that's all I wanted! I didn't want to kill myself. And then Chris broke through the door and... the look on his face when he saw me, I don't think I'll ever forget, ya know? He was so scared and shocked and hurt... and guilty. I could see it, but I didn't wanna believe it... and then he saved me. Again. He wrapped me in a blanket and that's the last thing I remember."

A few minutes later, Mary exited the room and closed the door behind her. She was totally blown away by the incredible story Kadence had just told her, but knew she had a job to do. This was certainly no healthy environment for a child to be in, not right now at any rate. She approached the nurse's desk and cleared her throat to get the attention of the Emma, who looked up.

"Hello, Doctor Taylor," she smiled. "Everything is well, I trust?"

"As well as things can be, yes," Mary forced a smile. "Could I please borrow the phone? I have a call I need to make, it's urgent."

"Of course," the nurse pushed the phone forward and Mary muttered a grateful 'thank you', and picked up the receiver. She dialled the appropriate number and waited until someone picked up at the other end.

"Hello?" came a stressed-sounding male voice.

"Matthew? It's Mary Taylor."

"Mary? How are you?"

"Good, good, listen are you busy right now?"

"A little bit. But I always got time for you,"

Mary chuckled at her life-long friend's flirtacious ways, and shook her head. "I need you to do me a favour."

"Anything for you."

"I need you to start a file on a girl named Kadence Myers. I'm going to send you the appropriate paperwork as soon as I receive it."

"Um, sure. Can I ask why?"

Mary sighed. "I MAY be requesting emergency removal of Kadence Myers from the custody of her mother, Lily Myers."

"Another abused child..." Matthew commented, sadly. "The world is an evil place at times..."

"No, no... it's not that I think she's been abused, far from it," Mary quickly explained, knowing that the business Matthew was in, it couldn't be helped but assumed that there was abuse involved.

"Then what is it?"

"I can't go into my diagnosis of a patient with you, Matt. You'll just have to wait for the paperwork."

"I need a valid excuse from taking a child from a parent, Mary, you know that." He pressed.

"It's my professional opinion that in her current situation, she's not safe with either parent. Not because of them, but I believe it's herself that presents her with the most danger. They are the stress points in her life, and I believe the safest thing to do is to remove her from her mother's care and perhaps place her with a family that won't exacerbate her mental state. All I'm asking is that you be prepared for a call from me, okay? I'll let you know."

"Send me the paper work."

"Will do."

They exchanged goodbyes and hung up; Mary gave the phone back to the nurse and turned away. Next on the agenda was to talk with Lily Myers. If this woman further affirmed Mary's belief that Kady wasn't safe, then she would put in another call to Matthew and request legal action be taken. And, of course, she would have to get in contact with the Chris Harris person. But, first things first. She slung her handbag over her shoulder and started towards the elevator, to meet Lily Myers.

* * *

**A/N2:** Uh oh, can you say 'more trouble for Chris, Lily and Kady'? You can? Excellent. Keep your eyes peeled for another chapter. It should be posted in the next day or two as Lizzie is eager to get this story over with. I'd make you wait for it. Guess I'm slightly more evil than Lizzie like that. Anyway, leave us a review and let us know what you think. Constructive criticism is accpeted but needless flames will be used to roast marshmellows. Thanks. **_Phoenix_**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** Another day, another chapter, more character-torture… especially for poor Chris. He totally snaps. Good stuff. I'm nursing a bit of a hangover right now, so my delightfully charming wit is not functioning today… sigh… I must crawl off to bed and die now. Enjoy the chapter! **_Lizzie_**

****

**_

* * *

_**

****

In Florida, Chris got out of his car in front of the arena and, looking around. It was way earlier than he had to be there for that night's show, a match that pitted America's Most Wanted against their hated rivals, The Naturals, in a title match. He and James managed to arrange the match with Jarrett, who was more than willing to give them the latitude they required, given Chris' personal situation. Though he would rather be no where else at this point, his attention wouldn't be much focused on wrestling that night, or anything else in particular rather than Kady and Lily. He walked around to the back of the car and opened the trunk, and picked up the bag which carried his wrestling gear and slammed the trunk closed again, more aggressively than was necessary. His mood was dark, and his patience was shorter than usual and the need to let out built up frustrations in this match tonight were high.

Chris walked into the backstage area of the arena to see TNA personnel going about their daily business is preparation for that night's show. Wrestling was what used to occupy his mind most of the time, and now it seemed frivilous. Unimporant. Even trivial. His career had lost a lot of meaning to him in the few days he spent with Kady. That's not to say he lost his passion for it or love of it, but now he simply wasn't as consumed by it. Walking down the hall, he could feel the eyes of people he passed on him. Rumours and news were quick to spread in the backstage areas, so it didn't come as a big surprise to him. James had told him that there was a lot of backstage gossip surrounding him and a certain personal assistant, which meant at least he was prepared for this kind of reception.

"Harris!"

He stopped and turned in the direction the familiar deep southern accent came from. Jeff Jarrett strode over to him, actually looking concerned and all that. For once Chris was seeing him as less of an asshole that he often thought Jarrett was.

"Hey," he greeted with a quick handshake.

"Glad you decided to show," Jarrett spoke with genuine sympathy. "How've you been?"

"Seen better days," Chris sighed. "It'll be a good distraction. Let management know for me how much I appreciate the space you've given me."

Jarrett nodded, his concern not lessening. "Sure, no problem. Keep focused for tonight, you hear? I know you got a lot on your plate right now; I need assurances you're not gonna snap out there."

"I'll do my job," Chris assured. "You don't gotta worry."

"Yeah I do," Jarrett replied. "I need to know that you're mental state is good for this, Chris. If not I'm sure I can arrange something else."

"My ex and our daughter are in hospital because of me. To say that I'm good right now is..." Chris trailed off for a moment. "Look, I'm fine. I can do this. Anyway, it's on the card now – AMW versus The Naturals. The fans are expecting it, so it's too late to back out now."

Jarrett, for obvious reasons, wasn't convinced that after all the stress Chris had been under, that this was the best time for him to get in a ring and let loose on his opponents. Chris Harris could be brutal when he wanted to be, therefore you can imagine what kind of punishment he was capable of inflicting when he wasn't in control of himself. He noted the unconvinced look he was getting from Jarrett.

"Jeff, I got it. I'm under control."

"Sorry, man, I just gotta be sure. You're losing the titles tonight, so take it easy okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me I got things I need to do," Jarrett then promptly excused himself and hurried off to do whatever it was he needed to do, leaving Chris standing alone in the corridor. It wasn't like Jarrett wasn't justified in his concerns – the last week had taken a huge mental toll on one of TNA's best wrestlers, and in the ring it was particularly dangerous if a wrestler didn't have control over what he was doing. He continued his way to the locker rooms, intent on having to deal with no one except for James if he had to. He rounded a corner and saw the main door that lead to the locker rooms come into view.

Several other wrestlers, including James, noticed him arrive and quietened down, creating an awkward, very uncomfortable silence. Chris didn't look at any of them and kept looking straight ahead – it sickened him that news on his personal life was spreading through the backstage like wildfire, but there was nothing he could do about it and certainly he would do nothing to further fan the flames. The door to the locker rooms opened and out stepped The Naturals. It had been a while since they had got a shot at the gold, and were aware that they got lucky that night because Chris Harris could no longer properly defend the titles. Chris, upon seeing them, groaned and had the urge to go after them right now. He didn't want or need to see them anymore than he had to before the match – they could be so damn annoying at times!

"Hey, man," Chase said, cautiously as they approached. In a second, Chris' eyes had completely darkened and his stride became menacing; his whole demeanor changing from a state of passiveness, to one that was ready to beat anyone who got in his way to a bloody pulp. "You okay?"

"How's Kady?" Andy wanted to know, just when Chris came to pass them. He stopped and slowly turned his head in Andy's direction. Andy and Chase both were somewhat startled at the change in him; to say that it was intimidating even for them, would be an understatement.

"Keep walking." Chris growled warningly and shoved his way past them. Tonight he would unleash his anger and pain all over them when he got his chance. James, who along with the other wrestlers had watched the scene unfold, followed after Chris. They had been tagging together for several years now, and so they knew each other very well. James could sense that something was brewing, something obviously not good. Chris wasn't hiding the guilt he was experiencing all that well, and if he didn't get a grip then sooner or later he would erupt.

"Chris!" James called out, following him into the locker room area, which was basically empty. Chris stopped and turned around.

"What?" he snapped.

"What was all that about?"

"What?" Chris repeated.

"Laying into Chase and Andy like that. Save it for the ring..." James kept his distance, knowing that right now the slightest little thing could set Chris off. "You need to calm down and focus."

"I just don't need those two bastards getting in my face right now, James," Chris heatedly explained. "I wanna go out there and do my job, that's all!"

"You and me both, partner," James didn't back down. "But it wouldn't kill ya to be a little civil. You're on a fine edge right now with management for ditching last week, they don't need to hear that you're roughing up people backstage as well."

"I didn't rough anyone up!" Chris cried in frustration. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You were about to," James put the beer bottle down to give Chris his full attention. "You and I both know what could happen if you lose it our there tonight. You sure you'll be okay?"

"What the fuck?" Chris yelled. "What is with everyone? First Jarrett, then The Naturals, and now you? I'm perfectly fine!"

James didn't know what to make of this, clearly Chris was not fine. At the same time, there was no way they could back out of doing the match at this late stage; TNA management would have a fit and he was not willing to get suspended over his partner's meltdown. Yes, the past week had been very stressful for Chris, but that was no excuse to bring it to work. All in all, James would've preferred that he stay in Kentucky to be with Lily and Kady, but that could've led to even worse results for Chris' mental stability. The one thing James had noticed when he picked his friend up was that this wasn't the same man who he had been friends and tag partners with for the last few years.

"We're worried," he softly replied, watching Chris furiously pace back and forth. "You got people who care – both here and in Kentucky. You need to figure out where it is you need to be." James was sick of this bullshit. Chris had to go back to Kentucky to fix the mess he was in, and to make some sort of attempt to reach out to Kady again. That would be the only way any of this would work.

"I don't need to be coddled. I need to do my job, and I'd appreciate a little more faith from my tag partner!"

"Hey, I'm behind ya, man..." James insisted. "But you gotta start looking at what's important here. Your daughter needs you. Hell, even Lily needs you. And I know, and _you_ know that there's a good chance that you could go out there tonight and lay it all out on Andy and Chase, which is shit you don't need."

"What are you trying to do, James?" Chris asked, sitting down on the bench. "You want me to sit out because you think I'm gonna snap?"

"No I'm trying to get you to wake up; open your eyes because you're missing it!" his partner replied.

"Excuse me?"

"You have the opportunity to set things right between you and your kid. Okay, so you need a few days to clear your head, that's fine. But right now she's lying in a hospital bed because she thinks you hate her. Now, I don't think I'd be the only one to see how fucking messed up that is." James picked up his beer again, needing to feel the sensation of alcohol to keep him calm. He wasn't an alcoholic, but Chris was really pushing his buttons now.

"Look," Chris breathed deeply, forcing himself to calm down based on knowing that James was only trying to help. "I appreciate what you're trying to do for me. But tonight isn't about Kadence or Lily or anything except going out there and doing what we do best. So I'd appreciate it if you, Jarrett, and every body else just backed the hell off. Get it?"

Rather than risk tempting fate and possibly really setting Chris off, James dropped the subject though his thoughts with heavy with the possible scenarios that could happen that night. Normally he wouldn't be all that concerned about the welfare of Chase and Andy, given that they weren't the best of friends anyway. But because of the change in Chris', there was a real possibility that someone might get seriously hurt if he wasn't controlled. And it wasn't just James Storm who was feeling the pressure. Outside, Andy and Chase were still baffled as to what happened.

"Seriously, with Harris that pissed off it's got me nervous," Chase confessed and leaned against the wall, staring in the direction of the locker rooms. "What is up with him?"

"Whatever it is, he better figure it out before the match. We don't need him taking his anger out on us," Andy replied. "I guess it's about Lily and Kady..."

"He missed the show last week. And a house show. It's gotta be serious."

"Just be prepared he's probably gonna take it out on us tonight..." Andy thoughtfully warned. If only he knew just how true his words would be laster that night. It had been no secret as to the relationship between Chris and the girl in question; practically every body backstage at TNA now knew of the severity of what was going on with him, making it the subject of much backstage gossip.

Later that evening, for Chris the time seemed to pass so quickly that before he knew it, it was now time for the TNA Tag Team Title match. Everyone else was pumped up for this match – the fans, the backstage crew, The Naturals, even James was ready for this. Most likely because everyone knew of the animosity – or even hatred – that existed between these two teams, and when they were all out in the ring, it was fair game. James and Chris stood near the entrance way and waited – The Naturals' music started and Chase and Andy made their way out onto the stage, admist cheering from the audiences. They went over very well as babyfaces to counter the now manipulative heels of AMW. James and Chris moved over to stand just behind the stage to await the cue of their music to join their opponents in the ring.

"You sure you're okay, man?" James asked, seriously.

"I'm good," his partner replied and did some last minute stretching before the beginnings of their music started playing. With no more time to worry about it, James shook his head and led the way onto the stage with Chris following close behind.

James and Chase were to start the match off, which they did by circling the ring and then locking up in a test of strength - or a test of wills. James got the upper hand, shoving Chase into a corner and slapping him a few times. Chase took the slaps well, waiting for James to start taunting the crowd before stepping towards him and hitting him with a forearm to the face.

The action between the two went back and forth for a while before Andy stepped in to break up a pin attempt. James knocked him down and made the tag to Chris. Andy got back to his corner in time for Chase to tag him in as well. As Andy stepped back through the ropes, Chris ran at him full speed, delivering a high knee and knocking Andy out to the floor.

While Andy was on the outside, Chris pulled the ref to him, complaining that his boot wasn't tied tight enough. James used the distraction to his advantage and began beating on Andy. Chase left his side of the ring and ran around the outside, heading in to help his partner. Chase caught James by surprise and began beating on him.

The ref, by now, was beginning to count Andy out. He pulled himself to his feet and rolled back into the ring, only to be picked up by Chris. The referee's attention turned to the men brawling on the outside of the ring as he tried to restore order to the match. Chris smirked, silently thanking his partner for liking to fight. With the ref's back to them, Chris planted Andy with a vicious powerbomb.

While Andy was on the mat, Chris laid into him with fists and boots to the head and abdomen, really letting fly. So far, the audience had really been into the match but they soon started to realize that Chris wasn't his usual self. He seemed more aggressive. Much more aggressive. By the time the ref had realized what was happening and pulled Chris off Andy, the younger man had been busted open above his left eye. James stood on the outside of the ring, looking in at his tag partner and opponent. He bent down to pull Chase to his feet and whispered to him.

"Chris is going too far. Get Andy out of there."

James then abandoned Chase on the outside and made his way to his corner, climbing up onto the ring apron and calling for Chris to make a tag. Chris' attention was pulled away from Andy momentarily as he stared at his partner, not quite understanding what it was that James wanted. He was in a completely different zone, now, and was intent on causing as much pain as possible to someone other than himself. He'd had enough of the emotional pain he'd been in for the past week while dealing with Lily and Kady. While Chris was distracted, Chase rolled into the ring and crawled over to Andy, wanting to make sure his friend was alright. When he got there, he nudged Andy and watched as his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Shit! Andy... come on, look at me." He whispered, loud enough to garner Chris' attention.

Chris grabbed Chase and pulled him to his feet before turning around and throwing him out of the ring right beside James. Chase immediately sprang to his feet, intent on getting right back into the ring. James grabbed him and stopped him from getting in the ring.

"He's snapped, stay out of the way." He ordered. Chase reluctantly relented.

In the ring, Chris helped a dazed Andy to his feet, the blood now completely covering the young man's face like a crimson mask. Once Andy was supporting his own weight, Chris wound up and punched him right between the eyes. The momentum of Chris' fist sent Andy back down to the mat. The ref warned Chris about the use of the fist but his warnings were futile against the larger man's will.

Chris' hands and arms were covered in Andy's blood and he stared down at it, his mind reminding him of a similar scene when he'd looked down at his hands while Kady was in surgery. Her blood had stained his hands then. A low growl emanated from low in his throat as he once again pulled Andy to his feet. As he looked at his opponent's face, it became distorted, turning into the face of someone else... Lily.

Chris dropped Andy to the mat and clutched his hands to his head, trying to rid himself of the memories that were haunting him now. James hesitantly got into the ring and approached his partner. The crowd was eerily silent as James reached out a hand and touched Chris' shoulder.

"God, forgive me. What've I done?" Chris muttered, snapping back to reality slightly as he looked down at Andy.

"Make a tag. We need to end this, now." James told him before returning to his corner where Chase was still standing.

"Go tag yourself in." James ordered quietly. Chase moved around to the other side of the ring and reached down to tag his unconscious partner. Chris stumbled to his corner and tagged James in. James allowed Chase to make a hurried end to the match, not kicking out after Chase delivered a weak finisher for the pin. As the bell rang, Chase abandoned James to check on Andy as the announcer's voice rang out.

"Here are your winners, and new tag team champions, Chase Stevens and Andy Douglas - the Naturals!"

The ref tried handing the title belts to Chase but he dropped them to the mat, more concerned about Andy's wellbeing. Several of the backstage crew made their way out to the ring to check on Andy - EMT's included. Chris stared down at the mess he'd made of the young man and wished he could be standing anywhere but there right now. He'd come back to work too soon and Andy was paying the price. James grabbed Chris by the shoulders and pulled him to a deserted side of the ring.

"Let's go walk it off." He told his friend.

Chris nodded silently and the pair left the ring amid a chorus of boos from the crowd. As they walked up the ramp, Chris turned and looked back. He couldn't see Andy amongst the throng of people in the ring now. Chase had been pushed back and was pressed into the ropes so they'd have more room to work on Andy. The blond man's face was a mask of panicked fear.

"Fuck. I... I didn't mean to go that far. I don't know what happened." Chris stammered, the reality sinking in.

"You took your frustrations out on the wrong person, that's what happened. I told you, you should've stayed in Kentucky and worked things out with Lily and the kid! Now there's another person heading for the hospital... how many more's it going to take, Chris? Huh?" James challenged, getting into his friend's face.

"Back off, man. I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Chris defended.

"Then why the hell did you leave your kid alone in a hospital room? You didn't even have the guts to tell her you were leaving this time. How is she not meant to be hurt by it?" James vented, pushing Chris ahead of him through the tunnel that led to the backstage area.

"Fuck you! Leave me the hell alone!" Chris replied before turning away. He ended up face to face with Jeff Jarrett, his father Jerry Jarrett and Dixie Carter. The co-owners of TNA.

"Chris, we need to talk. Dixie's office. Now." Jeff told him seriously.

"Can I shower first?" Chris asked meekly as he held up his hands for them to see.

"No." Jerry shook his head.

Chris nodded slightly in understanding before following the management trio as they headed for the office. James watched them go, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The feeling worsened as Andy was brought through the tunnel on a gurney, Chase at his side.

"How is he?" James asked Chase hesitantly. In all honesty, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Chris worked him over pretty bad." Was all that Chase could say before they were gone. James was left to wonder what the consequences of this match would be, both for Chris and Andy. Only time would tell.

The walk to Dixie's office was painfully silent; Chris not looking at any of them on the way. He was sure he was going to get fired. One of the golden rules in wrestling was to always maintain control. Given that this was a dangerous business, it was important that the wrestlers didn't lose control in the ring so they didn't hurt themselves or others like what Chris had just done with Andy. Stressful week or not, there was no excuse for it and certainly no place for it in the company. Chris Harris had much to answer for.

Jerry held the door to Dixie's office open and gestured for everyone to go in. Once everyone was inside, he shut the door.

"Chris, sit down," Dixie calmly said.

As calm as she sounded, she was actually on the verge of losing it with him. Everything that had happened obviously got back to her and she was not liking it, having always believed that Chris was a responsible guy. To see him in this state now was heartbreaking, but nevertheless, he did break the rules and sent an innocent person to the hospital. Chris sat down, not so much because she told him to but because all his energy had disappeared in the walk from the backstage area to the office. His legs now felt like jelly. Dixie walked over to her desk and sat down, facing across from him, while Jeff stood next to his dad against the wall, to Chris' right.

"Now... you're gonna tell us what the hell happened out there!" Dixie ordered.

"Oh, I already know what happened out there," Jeff snapped, angrily.

"I wanna hear it from Chris," Dixie replied, not taking her eyes off the sweating, blood-covered wrestler sitting in front of her. Chris had the word 'guilt' practically written all over his face in Andy's blood. "There better be a damn good explanation for why you sent Andy Douglas to the hospital sucking air through a tube!"

Chris was holding it all together, having no intention of breaking down in front of his boss, but it was difficult. If he lost his job now, that would be the end of it. He, in his opinion, would have nothing left. And he wasn't counting on, or wanting, sympathy from these people – maybe a little understanding, but not pity.

"I—" he stammered, his voice hoarse and it was painful to talk. "I don't know what happened... it was kinda blank..."

"You'll have to do better than that if you wanna keep working here, boy" Jerry harshly told him.

"I'm trying," Chris whispered, honestly. "I can't give you the answers I don't know... I don't know what happened."

"There's been some talk going around, Chris," Dixie said. "About you and your personal life. You've been the subject of much talk in the locker rooms this week. I've only heard a bit, but enough to know this is serious. If you have any mitigating circumstances for what happened out there tonight, let's hear it."

Chris spared a glance at the two men at his side and then back to Dixie; she was watching his every move like a hawk, ready to pounce on the first thing she didn't like. He was beyond all pretenses now... James had been right all along – he should've been with his daughter and Lily, not here. Whether he lost his job now, it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered. Lily and Kady hated him and probably would not want anything more to do with him.

"No excuses," he replied. "I have none. I'm sorry about Andy, I honestly didn't mean to take it that far..."

"Well, you did," Dixie snapped. "I still want an explanation. There are rumors flying around this place, and I don't know which ones even remotely resemble the truth!" she stood up and sighed. "I understand if there are some thing's you want to keep private, Chris, that are too painful for you to talk about. But Andy Douglas is—"

"I know!" he interrupted her, frustrated. "Believe me, Dixie, I know. I feel horrible about it, okay?"

"I don't think you get it, Chris," Jeff Jarrett stepped over to him. "You've done all but destroyed your career out there tonight. Hell, Andy was lucky you didn't kill him!"

"We're here to help you, Chris," Jerry spoke up, in an firm but somewhat comforting manner. "Talk to us. There's obviously something going on with you, something you're not handling by yourself. You gotta let someone in to help you."

"No one can," Chris replied, the fear evident in his words. "This is something I gotta fix on my own."

"You've tried that, man," Jeff told him and leaned against Dixie's desk, folding his arms over his chest. "From everything you've told me, you haven't been doing a good job in holding it all together."

"Holding_ what_ all together?" Dixie questioned, frustrated. She had heard all the rumors about Chris and Jeff's new personal assistant and something about a kid, but that was all. She wanted answers and she wasn't about to let Chris out of the room without getting some. He owed them an explanation, as well as one to The Naturals, and to his own tag team partner. He even owed one, in her opinion, to the fans for almost crippling the show because of his anger. "Like Jerry said, Chris… we're here to help. You snapped out there tonight and it isn't doing you or us any good by not talking about it."

"What do you wanna know?" Chris responded weakly, wanting them all to get off his back.

"What's been going on with you? What happened?"

"You mean other than me being the reason my ex girlfriend and our daughter are in the hospital?" he shot back, taking Dixie by surprise.

"What?"

"You have no idea," Chris told her, standing up. "And I'm sorry for what happened. I'll find Andy, I'll talk to him… I'll do whatever you want me to do, and if you still wanna fire more or whatever then I guess I can't stop you." He wiped his eyes with his arm, which was still covered with Andy's blood.

The choked up feeling wasn't going away and the mixed images of Lily, Kady, and what happened with Andy were still clouding any possible rational thinking he could do. The one thing in common with all three was the blood… at his hands. If he had never insisted on going with Lily to find Kady, then there was a good chance that Lily wouldn't have been hit by the car. If he hadn't lashed out at Kady when she was only trying to reach him, she wouldn't have cut herself. And of course, if none of that had happened – in Chris' mind, if he had stayed out of their lives, then he wouldn't have had to take out his pain on Andy.

"When I saw Andy bleeding," he continued. "All I could see was them. Lily and Kady. And I know I fucked up everything, including my career but it doesn't seem worth it!"

Dixie looked to the Jarrett's for some assistance, even confirmation on what she was hearing. Jeff nodded at her, affirming what Chris had said was true. This was a situation no one here had had to face before so, figuring out the appropriate punishment was especially challenging.

"I didn't know you had a daughter," Dixie admitted, breaking the silence that had befallen them.

"For a long time, I didn't," Chris sadly said. "I didn't even recognize her, even after she literally ran into me last week. I only knew her when I saw Lily again. The past week has been hell. Kady ran away and her mother and I did everything we could to find her and bring her round… so you wanna fire me, Dixie? Go right on ahead because I don't fucking care anymore!" his voice cracked with self-inflicted emotional pain. "I've lost the people who mean more than the world to me, so losing my job won't mean much in comparison."

"Chris…" Dixie rubbed the back of her neck to ease out the tensions that rose from the difficulty of her dilemma.

Usually something like what had happened out in the ring would warrant immediate dismissal of the offending person, but this was different. She knew Chris Harris was usually very responsible and would never intentionally hurt an opponent to the point where a career could be ended. How to solve this problem was not easy, since it had never happened before. But the physical and emotional wreck of the man standing before her did not lose impact on her decision making. Whatever recommendations Jerry Jarrett made, in the end it would be her decision.

"Why didn't you come to me sooner? We would never have let you out there tonight if we had known."

Jeff tensed up when she said that, knowing full well that he allowed the match to go ahead that night, with full knowledge of Chris' mental state.

"I don't know," Chris answered again.

"Well, you still need to be punished, Chris. Nothing justifies what you did out there tonight," Dixie told him, standing firm on the subject. The difficulty was trying to find the right balance between punishment and leniency given the stress he was under. "You know something this serious in nature would call for your immediate dismissal from TNA, right?"

He nodded.

"Okay, so here's what we'll do. We'll wait until Andy Douglas is well enough to talk to us about this and, depending on what he says, we'll determine an appropriate punishment. Until then, you're on indefinite suspension. I expect you will sort out your personal life and reflect on all of this during your time off…"

Chris grabbed onto the chair to prevent himself from toppling over due to his obvious weakened state. All the years he thought about his little girl, and imagined what she had been growing up to be like… things couldn't end between them like this. He muttered a quick thank you and another apology, and then excused himself. Jerry was about to raise an objection to him leaving, but Dixie silenced him with just one look. She knew that Chris understood the conditions of him still being employed by TNA.

He closed the door behind him and almost ran straight into James, who had been waiting outside for him. The Tennessee Cowboy was shocked at the ragged, broken down state his longtime friend was in and could find no words of comfort. The two men stared at each other for a few minutes, both in an utter state of disbelief and uncertainty. Chris was not the man James had come to know and had been friends with. They say that becoming a parent is a life-altering thing and this only proved that saying even more true. The only thing different about it was that Chris was never able to act on his parental instincts until now, and it was overwhelming for him to feel the same things he did when Kady was a baby.

"You look like hell," James commented, lightly.

"Yeah, fuck you," Chris muttered with a small smile.

"So... what's the verdict?"

"I'm lucky they didn't string me up by my hair. Guilty. Indefinite suspension until they talk to Andy. My pathetic story is, I think, the only thing that kept them from firing me… they don't wanna live with that guilt."

The tag team partners walked together toward the locker room. They had to get their stuff to head back to the hotel and Chris was dreading facing his fellow wrestlers. Everyone, by now, would've seen or known through word of mouth what went on in the ring. The looks he was getting from various backstage personnel was disturbing, so he kept his eyes fixed firmly on the floor.

"Have you heard anything on Douglas?" he wondered.

"No," James admitted. "Nothing yet. You put him down well, Chris. They're still mopping up the blood."

"Fuck…" hearing that news didn't make Chris feel any better, and if Andy was seriously hurt then he'd have to contend with the fact that his career could very well be over anyway, regardless of if he was fired or not. It wouldn't be long before what happened would hit the Internet, if it hadn't already.

"He'll be fine," James continued to assure, seeing the panicked and depressed state Chris was in. "He's a tough guy."

"That's not the point. You were right. I shouldn't have left them…"

"Then what are you waiting for? Get your ass back on a plane and go back to them."

"I can't!"

James sighed and muttered something under his breath, and grabbed Chris by his arm and shoved his partner against the wall very harshly, causing him to yell out in pain when his back and head slammed against it. Chris was weakened now, so even as he continued to struggled against James, there was no way he was breaking free of the powerful grip his friend had on him. James was going to force him to listen, no matter what.

"You and I have been friends for a long time, so the least you can do is give me some fucking credit and LISTEN! Whatever shit you're going through, I can tell you now it's not half as bad as what Lily and Kady are going through… now they have every reason to believe that you don't want to be in Kady's life. You've proved them right. Everyone who spoke against you, you proved them right. And you proved me wrong. I hate being wrong, Chris. If you don't get on a plane tonight and go back to them, then you've proved yourself right… you are a bad father. Andy Douglas, as much as he is an idiot, didn't deserve to get a beat down for no reason. Your daughter cut herself because she believed that you never wanted her… you've given her a reason to justify what she did to herself, given her a reason to do it all over again. And I can guarantee it, partner, if you don't go back there… and she tries it again? You'll prove what a fucking asshole you really are, and that you don't deserve to be her father."

James was doing everything short of beating sense into Chris now, with this one last attempt to get his friend to see what he was missing. The emptiness he saw in the dark, miserable eyes of Chris was horrible enough, but there was still a little something there. Confusion, maybe. Having done enough ranting to last a while and, since Chris didn't immediately respond, he knew it was still sinking in so James let go of him and stepped back. He wanted to say more, but there wouldn't be much good in it now, so he turned and walked away, hoping Chris would listen and do the right thing.

Two and a half hours had passed, and again Chris was back in what was quickly becoming a familiar and much-hated place. The hospital. From what he had learned, Andy had been admitted suffering a pretty big cut to his forehead which required many stitches, a bloody nose as well as a nasty concussion and a cracked rib. Other than that, he would be fine and would most likely be released in the next couple of days. Finally, after waiting around - something which he hated doing - Chris was allowed to visit. Chase had already been and was leaving the room at the moment Chris arrived.

"Is it safe to assume you got all your frustrations out on him in the ring?" Chase venomously took a shot at him, stopping just outside the door which blocked Chris' entrance to the room. The older man didn't want a confrontation, but he was going to get one.

"I know, Chase," he quietly replied. "I don't know what came over me—"

"I think I can make an accurate guess. You're seriously fucked, you know that?"

"I'm trying to make it right!" Chris insisted. "I need to speak with him."

"You gonna put him through a wall or something?"

"Stevens! Come on, man let me do this… let me do something about this."

While there was a mutual respect between The Naturals and AMW, it's not often that they got along and this latest development was only going to deepen the animosity between them. Chris hadn't showered and was still covered in blood mixed with sweat, and aside from looking physically exhausted, Chase could see how broken he was. He relaxed and stepped aside.

"Whatever. He's more than pissed off so, you should probably watch your step."

"Thanks for the advice."

Chase walked off with the intent of not running into Chris Harris for the rest of the night, and needing a good night's sleep. After the events of the show that night, he wanted nothing more than to get away from it all, though secretly admitted to himself that it would've been interesting to see Andy's reception of Chris.

Chris walked into the dim room and, in the bed, Andy was busy flipping through the television channels, looking bored and extremely agitated. He didn't notice the man who brutalized him walk in. If he had, he probably would've freaked out and tried to return the favor Chris so willingly gave him earlier.

"How you doing?"

Andy's attention had been caught and, within a second of recognizing who was in front of him, his face darkened into a dangerous expression which was easily readable as 'I would kill you if I could move', but he didn't say anything. He was still feeling the effects of Chris' attack and wasn't in the mood to play nice with him.

"Feeling any better?" Chris tried again and moved closer to the bed. Again, he got no response. He sighed and sat down on a chair that was a couple of feet away from the bed, out of 'attack range' by the man in the bed. "Look, I just came by to apologize… I know I went way overboard."

"Overboard?" scoffed Andy, mildly amused at Chris' choice of words. "Funny how you characterize it, Harris. You did everything short of killing me in the ring."

"I _know_. I'm trying to make this right."

"You're looking for a god damn excuse to relieve yourself of the guilt you're feeling, trying to blame it on whatever you did to fuck up the situation in Kentucky with your daughter," Andy guessed. "I won't make it that easy for you."

"What do you want me to say, man?"

"I don't want you to say a fucking thing. I want you to leave."

Seeing how Andy wasn't going to make it easy for him, Chris decided to drop the pleasantries and get straight to the point. "Okay, fine. But I just wanted you to know… I never meant for it to get that far, okay? James tried to talk me out of doing the match and I refused, thinking it would get my mind off what happened, and…" he looked away. "The exact opposite happened. When I saw you bleeding… it brought everything back up."

"Brought _what_ back up?"

"Lily. Kady. How I fucked up their lives even worse."

Andy knew a little of what had happened from James - some bad shit had gone down and that's why Chris was on the way back to Florida and why the match was set up. Other than that, he didn't know anything about the cutting or the car accident. "What did you do?"

"They're both in the hospital."

Forgetting that he wanted to kill Chris, Andy sat up and indicated that he was paying attention and willing to listen to this explanation. For what it was worth, it would be satisfying a curiosity that many people backstage at TNA were feeling.

"Go on."

"There's too much to say, man…"

"Summarize. I wanna know if there's a good explanation for what happened tonight. I mean, yeah we took the titles but still! You owe me an explanation."

Chris saw no way out, and that if he was ever going to make this right then he would have to do some serious, and fast, talking. It wasn't so much that he was looking for forgiveness from Andy, but it was the first step in straightening out the mess that he had pretty much made on his own. With him being new at the whole fatherhood thing, some may put Chris' recent actions down to a lack of experience and understanding of his kid. Others might say that he simply screwed up and was now paying for his poor judgment. Either way, this was going to be a long and difficult road to travel.

"I don't know what happened," Chris confessed. "We were actually starting to get along okay, ya know?"

"Who?"

"Kady and me. Lily was hit by a car while trying to stop Kady from running away again—"

"Shit, is she okay?"

"Let's just say no more than you are. She'll be okay, the doctors think. But, um… yeah Kady and I kinda fell into getting along after that, I guess more for Lily's sake than anything else. Afterwards, I was stressing out and she tried to talk to me and I pushed her away… she freaked out and thought it was because I never wanted her, and so she cut herself. She says she wasn't trying to kill herself, but… I dunno, man. I saw the look in her eyes. It was like she had totally given up on life. Anyway… that's when I left and came back here, figuring that I'd made things worse." He finished the story which had been repeated so often now that it was as if each time it was another blow to his heart. Andy sat back against the pillows and watched Chris' body language. The guy was in a lot of pain that he wasn't showing.

"Yeah, man you totally screwed up. They would be better off without you," Andy said with ease, the sureness with which he spoke took Chris by surprise.

"Excuse me?" Chris asked, wondering why Andy was saying the complete opposite to what everyone else had been saying.

"Well, if you're going to make halfhearted attempts at being a father – screwing up and then running away – they'd definitely be better off without you. Kady's just a kid... a screwed up kid. She hates the world because she thinks the world – you included – hate her. If you're going to hide out here and not work things out, she's not gonna come to you. She's never had you around before so she's learning, just like you are." Andy reasoned.Chris thought it over and actually kind of understood where Andy was coming from.

"How is it that you know this?" He queried. Andy shrugged as best he could.

"My dad was never around much when I was a kid. He traveled a lot for work so, one day he'd be there and the next he'd be gone. I used to wish he'd make up his mind and stop screwing me and mom around." Andy admitted honestly.

"So it's gotta be all or nothing, huh?" Chris mused, the reality sinking in totally now.

"Yeah. No point being there otherwise. Look, what you did to me tonight proves how emotionally connected you are to them... after just over a week. Kady will be the same. However shitty you feel right now, imagine your kid feeling it. Imagine what she'd do about it because she won't know how to handle it... you didn't know, why would she?" Andy pointed out.

"Fuck. You're right. I've gotta go, got a few things to think about. I know it doesn't count for much but, thanks. And... I really am sorry about what happened out there. When you talk to Dixie, feel free to tell her you want me gone. I deserve it." Chris told him.

"I don't want you fired, man. That wouldn't help anything. Just... get things sorted before you come back again, okay? Otherwise Chase will help me go for revenge. James probably would, too." Andy smirked.

"Yeah, no kidding. He almost put me through a wall earlier. I've fucked everything up... making it right isn't going to be easy." Chris realized.

"The things that are most worth it are always the hardest." Andy philosophized.

"You're so doped up you're actually starting to sound wise." Chris laughed.

"Fuck you, Harris." Andy chuckled, trying not to laugh too hard due to his cracked rib.

"See, smartest thing you've said all night. I'll let you rest now. I'll be expecting payback if we ever get in a ring together again." Chris assured him.

"You'll get it, with interest." Andy vowed with a nod.

* * *

**A/N:** Poor Chris. Or even more so, poor Andy. And that's not all, folks! More to come soon! 


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** Wow... chapter 12 already? Brilliant. Just to let you all know, I finally put the finishing touches on the story so we will be updating regularly until we're done. Lizzie can't think of anything witty to say (other than that Phoenix is a goose) and I can't be bothered thinking so... this is it. Enjoy the chapter and let us know what you think. Thanks. **_Phoenix_**

**_

* * *

_**

It was 8:00 AM the next morning and once again, lying in the hospital was doing nothing to ease the mind of Kady, who stared out the window with complete boredom and even borderline depression. While she had said that Chris could drop dead and just leave like he had done the first time, she couldn't believe that he actually went through with it and left. All her life she had hardened her soul so no one could get to her and hurt her, yet after only a week Chris had managed the smash through the wall, obliterating it so quickly it made her head spin. That wasn't to say that she trusted him or was even willing to forgive him for pushing her away.

She yawned, and felt the sun beating down on her through the window, though none of the heat since the window was closed. For some reason, at night she simply couldn't sleep but during the day she was often napping or feeling really dozy. With a pained expression, Kady blinked away the tears left by the betrayal and regret. Why did she let him get to her like that? It was not fair!

Her mind drifted away, searching the deep catacombs of her mind, specifically in the area of memory. Her search ended when remembering a specific time with her mother when she was only seven years old, and had found something that got her the closest she had ever been, up until now, to knowing her father.

_Kady bounded into her mother's room, coming off the high of her birthday party earlier that day. It had been a dress up party that her mother let her have, and all the fifteen children from her grade two class came to the party. Ice cream and pizza was served, as well as lots of game, and everyone had a lot of fun. The lively seven -year-old skipped over to her mother's closet, hoping to find her favorite pajamas that Lily had told her may have accidentally been placed with her clothes._

_At that moment, Lily and her mother – Kady's grandmother – were cleaning up the living room from having all the kids running through the house that day. She started clawing her way through the piles of clothes that were mounted in the walk-in closet, hoping to find what she was looking for. But like any kid her age, the ability to keep things neat and orderly wasn't exactly a skill she had mastered yet, and soon enough the neat pile of clothes had turned into a huge mountain (at least by her standards). _

"_Mommy!" she called, growing more frustrated by the second. "I can't find it!"_

"_It's there, honey! If it's not in your room then it's gotta be there!" she heard Lily call back._

_Kady groaned and dug her hands deeper into the next lot, and only stopped when her hand lightly hit something hard. She frowned and pulled at whatever the object was, and after a few tugs, she managed to pull it free and it emerged from under the clothes. It was a small, light red box. The curious and perceptive nature that inhabited children overtook her and she lost all interest in finding her pajamas. There was a label on it, and Kady held the box closer to her face so the dim lighting in the closet could make it easier to read._

"_Pri... pri..." she stammered, thinking for the right word. Kady learned how to read when she was only four years old; Lily made the decision to teach her from a young age. Even before she and Chris split up, they vowed to give Kady the best opportunity possible to develop, and that they were going to help her to read at a young age. "Private."_

_Kady giggled and traced the edge of box with her index finger. She was an intelligent child, and could only imagine the trouble she'd probably be in should Lily find out she was snooping through her private stuff. But in the end, after a few moments of deliberating the pros and cons of the possible actions she could take (the best a seven year old could do, anyway), curiosity won out and she opened the box. The contents of it were dusty... three folded up pieces of paper. Kady picked up the first one and unfolded it._

" '_December 3rd, 1992'." She read aloud, and squealed happily, loving the idea of reading. She was definitely a keen reader, and was advanced for her age._

"'_Dear Lily'... mommy? Wow. 'I know you are angry, and that you never want to hear from me again. But there are some things I must tell you... I know it's too hard for you to talk to me over the phone, so I decided to write.'" Kady paused long enough to bite her lip and looked over her shoulder, worriedly. Lily would really be mad if she caught her daughter reading her letters. But again, the curiosity was too strong, and Kady proceeded to read on. " 'I never meant to hurt you or Kady. You two are the most important thing to me in the world. I realize the mistakes I made, and I will do anything to get you to see how much I love you both. Please do not cut me from your lives... I love you. Please, let me call you. Let me see Kady. We can work this out, I know we can. We have been through too much to let us fall apart. We are a family, you, Kady, and I. I have recently got the chance to make a mark in the business, for WCW. It's an opportunity that I have to take, and it would mean the world to me if you and our baby was there. Please, Lily. Give us another chance to be a family. I don't want to pressure you. If you don't want me in your life, I will leave. But please tell Kady that she has a daddy who loves her more than anything in the world, that's all I ask. I love you both. Please call me. Chris'"_

_She looked up, with tears filling her big green eyes, realizing that this was a letter from her daddy. Her whimpers turned into sobbing and she dropped the letter. Rarely did her mother talk about her father, and she had always been curious to know more about him. Within seconds, her sobbing and crying had increased in volume, and she crawled out of the closest and sat on the floor of Lily's bedroom._

"_Daddy..." she whispered._

Kady let out a gasp and clasped her hand over her mouth to keep the cries quiet. Her chest hurt from the tension of remembering a moment in her life she had forgotten for so long. But even with her hand muffling the cries, it wasn't quelling the pain at all, and the sudden remembrance of that particular memory was like a blow to the chest. Her entire perception of Chris was changing and she didn't want it to! What she remembered of that letter was that he said he'd never stop loving her, and while she wanted to believe all the evidence to the contrary (pretty thin evidence as it was), it was hard to do so.

"Oh God... Chris," she cried weakly. "Dad..."

"I'm here, baby," a now familiar southern voice entered the room and Kady turned her attention to the door and, there stood Chris, in the doorway.

He was reluctant to move forward without an encouraging word or gesture from his daughter, and it broke his heart to see her going through what she had to. He had been standing there for five minutes, too nervous to move or say anything, but his fears and concerns meant little to him anymore; the words of his colleagues had sunk in during the flight back to Kentucky.

At the sight of him, Kady's cries worsened and a weight was lifted from her shoulders; Chris could no longer wait for her to either accept or reject him and ran over to her bedside, and Kady reached for him. He didn't need to think to know what she wanted and in an instant had enveloped her into a loving hug. She cried into his shirt and allowed herself to relax in his arms, feeling the strength of him against her. For the first time ever, Kady allowed herself completely to give in to her dad, and Chris kissed her forehead, while holding his hand at the back of her head, stroking her hair. Her hands gripped at his back, and he could tell that she was no longer resisting.

"I'm here," he repeated, choked up. "I'm not goin' anywhere again."

"I'm so sorry..." she told him, now in hysterics. "I didn't mean it, I didn't!"

"Shh..." Chris comforted her and didn't relax his hold on her for a minute. For thirteen years he had dreamed of the moment where he could hold his child without any fear or doubt between them. For the first time, both were exactly where they wanted and needed to be. "It's okay, I know. You got nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart."

He pulled back enough to look at her; no longer was she the defiant, hate-filled teenager he had met over a week ago. It was weird... those eyes of hers, now, had that same look in them the day he had last seen her when she was a baby; when he had packed his things and was holding her for the last time. Even then, she was so smart – she had known something was wrong. Now, she had that same look in her eyes; that look that said how she didn't want him to go, that she needed him. Chris gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb and brushed away her tears, and then kissed her nose. A child that had been broken by circumstances and the mistakes of her parents, that not even a developed passion for the gothic lifestyle could keep away the pain of it all. Everything had taken it's toll to the point where Kady's resistance had broken, and there was nothing left for her to fight anymore. She grabbed Chris' hand and stared at him with uncertainty.

"I can't deal with this anymore," she told him, honestly. "It hurts too much."

"I know..." Chris sat on the bed properly now, and helped Kady lay back against her pillows. "This is my fault, Kady... I wasn't a father to you when you needed me. I ran away, I should never have left... I never stopped loving you, baby. Never."

"Why won't it stop hurting?"

"It will, I promise. Give it time; the pain will go away..." he said, knowing the double meaning behind her words, and kissed the back of her hand.

Warmth had returned to her, very different from two days before when she was losing blood and life because of him. The facade had been stripped away, and now his little girl was in front of him. Kady squeezed her eyes shut and then open them to make sure that none of this was a dream, that having Chris here with her now was all real. It was.

"You're not going to leave, are you? Please?"

"I'm not leaving you again, honey. I know it'll be hard, but I'm gonna be working hard so you can trust me."

"When I was seven, I found a letter you wrote to mom," Kady told him, her voice wavering and held onto his arm. "I know, dad. You loved us."

"I did. I do. I thought about you every day, ever since you were born... and it wasn't your mom's fault, it was mine. I shouldn't have left you in the first place. All she wanted was for us to be a family and I walked away from you both. And I won't forgive myself for it..."

Kady sat forward and was careful not to agitate her injury further, but it didn't hurt at all thanks to the magic of pain killers. She leaned forward enough so that barely inches separated her from Chris, and she placed arms over his shoulder and flinched when a minor surge of pain shot through her arm, though subsided seconds later. He responded by putting his arms around her to keep her stable, and was confused with what she was doing. This girl had transformed right before him – it was a long, arduous process, but both had been broken enough so now all they had was each other. And then there was Lily. Chris was sure she'd now do everything in her power to keep Kady and him separate, and would deal wit her at a later time. For now, this time was for Kady alone.

"Kady?"

"I'm okay..." she raised her head to see him again. "I tried to kill myself the other night."

Chris exhaled deeply even though he suspected as such from the moment he burst through the door and saw her sitting on the floor. It was quite different to have her admit that she tried to terminate her own life because of him. In response, he embraced her again and now it was his turn to let the tears flow.

"Oh God..." he muttered and kissed the side of her head again, taking every advantage of this moment to make up on thirteen years of lost hugs and kisses. As sappy as it was, Chris Harris was ready to be the father he never got a chance to be. And to hear that his only child tried the suicide route... it was unconscionable, and it was something that they would all have to live with for the rest of their lives. "I'm so sorry, baby..."

"I didn't know what to do..."

"Neither did I," Chris replied and pulled away, just a little but kept her in his arms. "But I do now, okay? You believe that?"

"No," Kady whispered, as honest as she could, and his heart fell. "But, um, I'm... uh, willing to try."

"I love you," he assured her and was no longer afraid to say it. He had lost her on more than one occasion and the fragility of their relationship could no longer be a reason for him to not say it and act on it. "I love you."

"I wanna say it, but I can't yet. I can't say it back."

Chris, disappointed, understood why and wasn't about to convince her or attempt to change her mind. "I know, I get it. Believe me, I get it. Take all the time you need, Kady, because I'm not going anywhere."

Kady had waited so long to hear those words from her father, and with the hugs and the words combined, she knew he was serious. Hopefully it would not take thirteen years for them to build and maintain a real father/daughter relationship and this was a start to developing one. So much mistrust and pain had been experienced between them over nine days and that was going to be worked through first. Chris rubbed her arm affectionately, and picked up the plastic cup of water beside her bed. She needed to get some fluids into her to prevent dehydration from the stress of it all.

"You okay?" he asked.

"No. I don't think I will be for a while, you know I'm pretty screwed up, right?" she chuckled and accepted the water.

"Point taken." Chris smiled as he watched her drink.

"What about you? Are you okay?" Kady wondered when she'd finished drinking, a hint of concern showing in her eyes.

"Let me put it this way... I'm not lying in a hospital bed although I probably should be. Guess I can't complain." Chris mused, rubbing a hand over the top of his head.

"Why should you be?" Kady queried, brushing some stray hair out of her eyes.

"Do me a favor and don't watch Impact when it airs, alright. I... damn it... total honesty?" Chris stalled, looking to his daughter to see if she'd accept the offer.

"Total honesty." She nodded firmly. Chris took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before hanging his head.

"I messed up Andy Douglas... pretty bad. Everything got the better of me and I snapped in the ring. He's laying in a hospital bed in Orlando. If it weren't for James and Chase... shit, I might have killed the kid." Chris admitted seriously.

"You... you're serious?" Kady asked, not wanting to believe it.

"Total honesty. He was a bloodied mess by the end of the match... and all I could see was you and Lily... I fucked up big time and I could lose my job because of it – I deserve to lose my job because of it. I'm on indefinite suspension until management have had a chance to talk to Andy." Chris confided. The regret in his eyes told Kady more than his words could.

"You didn't mean it." She reasoned. Chris looked up at her and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. And, after all I did to him, Andy was the one that finally made me realize what I had to do for you, for us. I swear his medication gave him some sort of freaky, deep wisdom or something." Chris smiled slightly. Kady looked confused.

"How did he make you realize it? I mean... was he the only one that cared at all?" She wondered, thinking that Andy was one of the last people she'd think of in terms of helping her.

"Hell no. James was at me constantly, trying to get me to call you to let you know I'd be back or whatever. Jeff Jarrett was even kind of concerned. But... Andy put a whole different spin on things, made me see them from a different point of view. He made a heck of a lot of sense." Chris remembered.

"Ugh... does that mean I have to stop thinking he's creepy?" Kady queried, remembering the day that Andy had bitten her.

"No, it doesn't at all. In fact, I would really prefer for you to continue thinking he's creepy. All guys are creepy... repeat that after me – all guys are creepy." Chris joked.

"Most guys are creepy. I can't say it about Danny." Kady refused sadly. She hadn't seen her best friend since she'd been admitted to hospital.

"Danny's alright. As long as you keep thinking of him like a brother." Chris accepted, catching the hint of sadness in her voice and face.

"Not that he probably wants me to anymore." Kady whispered.

"Hey, now... none of that. Things got a bit hairy there for a while, I know. But, things are getting better now, yeah? I'll help you work things out with Danny. I mean, how could he possibly stay mad at you?" Chris teased, pinching Kady's cheek gently.

"Get off!" Kady laughed, swatting his hand away. Chris grabbed her hand and held it in both of his own, letting them rest on the bed. They sat in silence for a bit before Kady tugged at her hand to get her father's attention. He snapped out of his daze and looked at her with an eyebrow raised, silently questioning her.

"How's mom doing? No one will tell me anything." She asked. Chris shrugged a little.

"I'm not sure. I came straight in to see you when I got back. I kind of upset your mom before I left by telling her about you being in here. Chances are I've blown things completely with her and she'll refuse to let me anywhere near you once you're both out of here." He admitted.

"Oh. Do you think we could..." Kady trailed off, suddenly not sure her request would be such a good idea.

"You want to see her?" Chris guessed. Kady nodded hesitantly.

"I'll ask a nurse if you're allowed to go for a walk. Sit tight." Chris smiled as he got to his feet. He bent down slightly and kissed the top of her head before leaving the room.

Kady sat quietly, digesting all the information and emotion that had flowed between her and Chris since he'd announced his presence to her. Soon, her true nature began to show through and she fidgeted, hating having to wait for a nurse to give the all clear before she could go and see her own mother. Deciding she didn't care if the nurse was going to agree or not, Kady slid off her bed and walked to the door of her room. Checking that the hallway was clear, Kady stepped into it and headed for her mother's room. She hadn't gotten far when someone chuckling behind her made her spin around.

"Never one to listen, are you?" Chris figured, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

"I'm related to you... of course not. Don't tell me you wouldn't have busted me out of there no matter what the nurse said." Kady challenged with a grin. Chris' heart skipped a beat. She was smiling... really smiling. The simple expression changed her completely.

"Maybe I would've... but you'll never know now. Let's go see your mom." He told her, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his side before the pair walked the rest of the way to Lily's room.

The short trip to the next floor above them was a silent one, no doubt that they both had much to think about, and adjusting to each other on a new level. It still felt weird for her to not hate Chris and it would take a while for her to develop the trust she needed to in order to be able to call him 'dad'. They arrived at Lily's room, to see the door was closed, and since she still had issues to work out with her mother, Kady started trembling. Chris felt her shaking and looked down, squeezing her shoulder for reassurance as they stopped outside the door.

"Hey," he spoke up. "You okay?"

"It's hard, ya know? To see her like that..." Kady commented, staring at the door. "Knowing it was because of me."

"Whoa, whoa," Chris stepped in front of her so they were facing each other, his hands on her shoulders. "Where's that coming from? You didn't cause the accident, Kady."

"But I walked away," she stammered. "If I hadn't walked away, she wouldn't be like this!"

"You can't possibly know that. No one can. She went after you because she loves you, there's no way she blames you for this. It's not your fault."

Between what she remembered of the accident and what everyone had been telling her had happened, and what she saw... Kady didn't know what to believe anymore. All the information was so mixed up, to know what was right and what was wrong. Even though she knew Chris wouldn't lie to her, he was still her father, and a father's job is to always make his child feel better.

"You don't gotta sugar coat it for me, Chris. I fucked up as much as you did, remember?" she joked, weakly.

"That's true, but you have a legit excuse to get away with it," he smiled.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"You can blame everything on me!"

"Aw, you'd let me do that?" Kady teased.

"Hey, that's what fathers are for, right?" Chris shrugged. "I haven't read the rule book yet."

"That'll make my life easier then," she laughed.

He gently shoved her and before Kady could protest, he reached out and knocked on the door twice. Seconds later, they both heard a muffled 'come in' from behind the door, and Kady tugged his arm to pull him back – she wasn't ready to go in, but it was too late. Chris opened the door and inside, Lily's breath caught in her chest at the sight of him. Since Kady was standing behind Chris, Lily couldn't see her straight away and so was more than willing to lay into him for what he did. The pain had been killed again for a while by an increase in her medications, at her request, and she was sleepy.

"Chris fucking Harris," she greeted him. Her mood was sour enough as it is, and to find that he was here now. "You have some nerve! What happened to leaving?"

Chris rolled his eyes. The venom dripped from each word and stung him, but since they had been arguing so often he was building up an immunity to it... Lily was really losing her effect on him.

"Good morning, sunshine!" he replied, aiming to be just as sarcastic. "Glad to hear you haven't lost your delightfully charming wit that we all know and love."

"Go to hell!" she yelled, sitting up as best as she could before the pain strengthened its hold on her and she yelped – Chris rushed forward to help her, but stopped halfway in the room when she shot him one of her deathly evil glares that actually did instill a bit of fear into people who she directed it at. "You're just lucky I can't move or—"

"Or what, mom?" Kady stepped into the room and came up to stand next to Chris, putting her hands on her hips. "He beat the hell out of Andy Douglas' ass at TNA last night, that's what happened to leaving."

"Yeah, tell the whole world, Kady," Chris muttered.

"It's not like the whole world isn't gonna see it, Chris," Kady taunted back, with a light shove.

Lily stared in shock at them standing side-by-side, not even paying attention to their bickering, and focused on the huge bandages that were wrapped around Kady's arm. It was the first time she had seen her daughter in days, even after the incident with the cutting and Chris had said he was leaving. She blinked rapidly and each time the image remained of them two. Her ex boyfriend and her daughter looked like they were, for real, getting along! They weren't at each other's throat. Kady found her mother's reaction very amusing and understood why she was so shocked.

"Kady..." Lily whispered in disbelief. "Oh God..."

Chris could see that she was caught between bursting out into tears from the horror of Kady's injury, or to be elated at the idea that they were getting along. There were no strings attached either; Kady and Chris were genuinely at peace with each other – Lily didn't need any explanation. Chris nudged Kady and leaned to her and whispered for her to go to Lily.

"And be nice!" he warned.

"Hey, back off. When am I not nice?" Kady smiled, and instantly reminded Chris of Lily, and he tried hard not to let the hardship of dealing with that obvious to either of them . She definitely had her mother's smile.

"Kady?"

Kady left his side and walked slowly around the end of the bed and over to Lily, who had outstretched her arms, hoping that her daughter would accept. It didn't take much coaxing for the once-cold, even heartless child to join her and Kady neither pushed her away or fully returned the hug, still unsure as to what the feel about all this and at the same time was nervous about aggravating Lily's conditions further.

Lily, on the other hand, wasted no time in grabbing her child's hand and pulled Kady to her. At the moment of contact, Lily started crying and in between her cries she occasionally muttered 'thank you God' or something along those lines. They held each other for several minutes while Chris stood to the side and watched them interact in a way that they hadn't done for so long, and it was very touching. Assuming that Lily wanted some alone time with Kady, he quietly walked to the door.

"Wait!" Kady called from behind him, and he turned back. "Where you going? Stay..."

Lily was confused at the niceness that was flowing well between them, and had never known Kady to be so... pleasant, especially with the man she had been cursing and wishing death upon only days earlier. That, combined with the drugs, and Lily was having a hard time absorbing any of it.

"I think you and your mom need some time alone," Chris told her. Truth was, he would have rather stayed with them, but the logical thing to do was leave them to catch up and sort out whatever they needed to.

"I'll be outside," he then saw the glimpse of nervousness that flashed in her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."

Kady relaxed, satisfied with that answer, and both she and her mother watched Chris leave the room and he closed the door.

"What was all that about?" Lily asked, demanding of some answers to what had been going on outside of her presence. Kady turned back to her and sat on the bed as best she could without disturbing Lily or the medical equipment surrounding and attached to her.

"What?" Kady innocently replied, acting like she didn't know what her mother was talking about

"You and Chris! What's going on? What happened?"

"Nothing!"

"Kadence..."

"Mom, seriously. Nothing. It's just... I dunno. I no longer have the desire to kill him, that's all," Kady shrugged.

Lily looked over at the closed door. Was she supposed to be pissed off with him for putting their child in such danger and for leaving again? Or was she supposed to forget it all and be happy with the idea that they were now okay with each other? Being a mother first and foremost, she opted for the former rather than the latter. But she hid her anger well from Kady.

"What happened?" Lily asked again.

"I dunno. I kinda just remembered something that happened when I was younger and... suddenly he didn't seem so evil."

"Can you be more specific?" Lily wondered, rubbing a hand over her eyes.

"Remember the night of my seventh birthday? When I was looking for my pajamas in your closet?" Kady hinted.

"The letter." Lily figured, remembering finding her daughter sobbing on her bedroom floor after she'd read it as a child.

"Yeah. I still don't get something, though." Kady mused. Lily motioned for her to continue.

"Why did you let me believe that he never cared? I mean, you never told me about the letters, never told me that my father loved me even if he wasn't with me." Kady queried.

"If he cared, he would've been there. He walked out on us, baby, not the other way around." Lily sighed.

"But you never gave him a chance to make things right... why couldn't you do that?" Kady pressed.

"Because it hurt, Kady! It was like... we weren't good enough for him... I wasn't good enough for him. I didn't want to have to go through it all over again." Lily answered honestly, the pain medication relaxing her to the point where she didn't care about holding things back anymore.

"But if you'd given him another chance then... maybe he wouldn't have left again. He realized that he was wrong and wanted to make it right but you never let him. Why couldn't you have let me have my father? The one thing I wanted more than anything?" Kady needed to know, tears stinging her eyes. She only just realized how much her mother betrayed her over the years, leading her to believe that Chris never cared or loved her, and now to have the exact opposite proved… betrayal was all she could feel. Lily reached over to touch her daughter's cheek, but in an instinctive act, Kady slapped her hand away.

"Mom, don't. Just leave it…"

"Kady, honey—"

"You knew!" she stressed. "You knew all along that my dad loved me and you let me believe that he was so fucking evil… and all that time you were thinking of yourself!"

"No, Kady, no!" Lily said, desperately. "That's not true at all, I—"

"Then why? All I wanted was to have my dad and you couldn't see past your own pain to let me have him. You were willing to hurt the both of us just so you wouldn't have to deal with it?" As the idea sunk further into her soul, Kady's rage was rising. All her life she believed that it was Chris who had betrayed her, when it was Lily all along who was pulling the strings and kept them apart. Lily reached for her again and Kady stood up and stepped back, in shock.

"Mom, you knew all those years… and you never told me. What the fuck am I supposed to feel? How do you think I'm supposed to react to that?" she sobbed. "Me believing all the time that I wasn't good enough for him, and you knew that it wasn't true! All the time when I felt like crap, and you could've stopped it! Every time I ran to my room crying after my birthday wishes never came true!"

"Kadence, I did it for us!" Lily insisted, before covering her mouth and muffling a cough and closed her eyes. Seeing her mother's distress, Kady went to the table next to the bed and picked up the cup of water and lowered it, holding the straw to Lily's mouth. Lily accepted the offer and after a few mouthfuls, she pulled away and Kady put the cup back down.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…" Lily breathed and waited for the tenseness in her chest to disappear, and opened her eyes again. "Kady, I never wanted to hurt you. He left us, baby. He gave up his right to be a father when he walked out the door!"

"Wasn't that supposed to be my decision, mother?" Kady shot back.

"Chris Harris chose wrestling over you and me, Kadence. That's a fact!"

"No, that's your opinion! He told me that he wanted both…" the tears returned to Kady and she made no attempt to dry them or hide her pain. She wanted Lily to see how much all this was hurting her; she wanted Lily to know what effect this was having. She sniffed, and thought carefully before adding her next comment. "Chris Harris is my father. HE'S MY FATHER!"

Outside, Chris sat on the cold chair, leaning forward and resting his head in the palm of his hands, deep in thought. They all had a long way to go before things could settle into what would be defined as a sense of 'normality'. He and Kady still had much to learn about each other… he wanted to know about her growing up, and she needed to get to know him and who he is. Period. Now the question was – how were they going to work this? Even if things went well with him and Kady, there was still the issue of how he and Lily were going to make this work, for her sake.

All along he had been focused on Kady, without paying too much attention to how to deal with the woman he left along with his kid. Chris didn't know what to make of Lily now. It was easier since they lived in Florida now so being with Kady would be relatively easy to work out, but it was important that Lily and he got along. Much still needed to be worked out between them and that part wasn't going to go by Kady unnoticed. His trail of thoughts was broken when the door opened and Kady walked out, in a mixed haze of anger and tears. Chris stood up.

"What happened in there?"

"Mom happened, that's what!" Kady replied and flopped down on one of the seats and crossed her arms. "I can't believe her!"

"Okay, I'm almost too afraid to ask, but too curious not to," he remarked. "Spill it."

"I asked mom why she let me believe that I was never good enough for you when I was little. And she still keeps saying that it's because you left us that took away your right to be my dad and that you didn't deserve to know me." Kady's state of disbelief was not reflected by Chris' reaction to what she told him, and he sat back down next to her.

"Don't go blaming your mother, Kady… this isn't her fault, she's right."

"What!"

"I don't deserve to be your father, baby," he explained. "I never did. I lost that right when I left… and I was young and stupid in believing I could have it all, and… Lily wanted all or nothing. I… assume… she did what she did for a reason. She wanted to protect you, I guess. As fucked up as the logic seems, Kady, I've never seen a mother as dedicated as Lily. I know for a fact she'd never do anything to hurt you intentionally. Don't blame her for this, especially now… when she needs you more than ever."

"I don't get how you can defend her for what she did to you as well as what she did to me," Kady whispered. "It doesn't make sense."

"I admit your mother and I have a lot to work out. And there's a lot she and I both have to answer for… we really screwed up. But from the day you were born, all Lily wanted was to do what was best for you, or at least what she thought was best for you," Chris believed what he was telling her and most of all was not going to allow a falling out to happen between Lily and Kady now.

"But she—"

"Yes I'm pissed too that she let you believe things like that about me without telling you the truth, but the truth is… I lost every right to be your father a long time ago. Your mother saw that. And she didn't want you to get hurt again."

He slipped his arm around her shoulders and Kady took the hint, shuffling closer to him and resting her head against him. "But it hurt every time you didn't show up."

"That's my fault. I had so many opportunities to come back, but I got scared… don't hold my mistakes against Lily, Kady. It's not fair to her."

They sat in silence for a few minutes to think about everything, with Kady letting Chris' words sink in and she understood what he had been saying. That didn't lessen the hurt she had from being passively deceived by Lily over the years and her understanding of the world was completely turned upside down.

"I did try, when you were little, to see you…" he confessed. "Lily would have none of it."

"When?" she sat up and frowned.

"A couple of times. There were two occasions when you were about three or four, or around that time. Lily wouldn't let me see you. And then there was another time just around your eighth birthday. I was in Kentucky, close to here, for a show, and I ran into Lily on the street. I asked to see you and she refused again."

"See! That proves my point!"

"Let me finish," Chris snapped, and Kady quickly settled back down. "Lily was scared. She said that she didn't want your life to be complicated further by me waltzing into your life when you've been settled without me, and that she didn't know if I was being genuine or not… my point is that Lily always did what she thought was best for you. And she doesn't need you hating her right now. I'm pretty sure she feels like crap enough as it is."

Kady groaned and kicked at the floor, pouting and sulking like any kid that didn't get their way would, and again Chris was making more sense than she wanted him to. He squeezed her arm to get her attention.

"It's okay to love your mom, you know. No shame in it," he commented.

"No, but it's hard to trust her now," Kady countered and slumped in her seat. "Let me ask you something…"

"Sure."

"How hard was it to leave?"

Chris touched her hand, and his heart almost stopped completely in his chest. Kady's skin was soft, just like when she was a baby. He remembered how her skin felt when he used to pick her up and she'd smile up at him and he could stare at her all day. Lily would walk into the room and watch him and Kady staring at each other for so long, as if they were silently connecting and bonding. To feel that same skin of his little girl, now a teenager, it was scary. This was his last shot at being her father and doing what he was always meant to do.

"Chris?"

"Hmm?"

"How hard was it to leave us?"

The question did not surprise him, but the sincerity in which Kady spoke – like she was a little girl again – did.

"It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. The day I left, baby… every night afterwards I kept dreaming of you and your mother."

"So you never blamed mom?"

"No. On the contrary. I despised your mom for the longest time… for years after… for forcing me out of your lives," Chris calmly explained. "But that doesn't mean I didn't still love her. Or you. Things just got way more complicated then I guess either of us could imagine."

There was no point in wasting anymore time; Kady needed to go back into that room and talk properly with Lily without letting her temper get the best of her. There would be time to answer all her questions later, Chris decided, and he got back to his feet, pulling Kady up with him.

"Wait! What—"

"You and I are both going back in there to talk to her. Well, you'll do all the talking. I'll be there to make sure you don't attack her again."

"Chris!"

"Quit whining, that's what dogs do."

Lily wiped her eyes and attempted to pull herself together upon hearing the door opening, and Chris stepped in, dragging Kady in by her good arm. She shut the door behind them and he let her go once they were standing in front of Lily.

"Chris what did you say to her?" Lily questioned, nervously.

"Mom, relax! He's been defending you this whole time, so—"

"Kady! Chill," Chris ordered and stepped forward. "Lily, I think she's starting to understand. Kid, talk to your mom." He pushed her forward and then sat down on a chair not too far away. Kady looked to him for help, but all she got from him was a smirk and a gesture to go forward, and she returned thanks with an ominous glare of contempt.

"Kady?" Lily tried again. "Honey?"

"Mom, I just don't get it!" she exclaimed and sat on the end of the bed. "I mean, all you said you wanted was for me to be happy, and I wasn't happy because I never knew my father. Where's the logic in that?"

Lily turned her eyes past Kady and gazed over at Chris as he watched on, silently. Perhaps he was looking for some answers, too. They were all in the unique place where questions could be asked and answered with no holds barred, and there was no escape from it now.

"I don't have logic, Kadence. I never did. Okay, what I did was wrong I should've told you about him! But I can't change things now!" Lily was quick to explain and hoped she was getting through to her.

Kady was literally stuck looking between her parents with uncertainty, confusion, and complete mistrust. Neither of them had proved to her that they were worthy of her trust and so far they weren't on the right track to getting it anyway. Then, knocking came at the door that effectively disturbed any progress that could be made between the three of them, and without encouragement it opened. Kady groaned when Doctor Mary Taylor walked in and Lily wanted to echo that reaction but wisely kept quiet. Chris remained seated but was curious as to Lily and Kady's reactions to this lady. Following quickly behind was a man, whom none of them recognized. Mary stopped and appeared shocked at seeing Kady and Lily together, but had yet to notice Chris who was sitting against the wall.

"Kadence Myers…" she commented. "My, my… What a nice surprise. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Oh, the feeling's mutual, doc," Kady retorted and casually pushed her hair from her face.

"Kady, quiet down," Lily instructed and Mary turned her attention to her.

"Good morning, Ms. Myers," she greeted, with apprehension. "I came by with an associate of mine to talk to you; I certainly wasn't expecting to see your daughter here."

"She is my daughter – is it surprising she came to visit me?" Lily replied. Like Kady, she didn't like this woman, who was too condescending for her taste.

"Not at all," Mary quickly said, sensing the tension and wishing to diffuse it. "It's just that I thought we could talk in private—"

"Look, lady," Chris stood up, and both Mary and the man she was with jumped at noticing him for the first time. "She wants to spend time with her kid, so I don't see what the big deal is."

She regained her composure and looked back and forth between him, Lily, and Kady. "Excuse me… who are you? Can I assume that you're Ms. Myers' boyfriend?"

Kady burst out laughing and Lily bit her lip, hoping to disguise the smile of amusement. Chris smiled mischievously.

"She wishes. You can assume all you want, lady. I'm her ex. Chris Harris… Kady's dad."

Mary's eyes widened and she dropped her clipboard on the floor, legitimately startled at seeing this man here. From what she had already learned, he had supposedly left and wasn't at all getting along with Lily or Kadence Myers. This made everything all the more interesting and already an idea was formulating in her mind. If anything, this was going to be easier now that all three were together and the evaluation could go along more smoothly. She sized up Chris Harris. Definitely a big, dominant-looking guy who looked like he could kill someone with one strike.

* * *

**A/N2:** Hmm... reading back through this chapter I think I've realized just how evil we've been to Chris, Lily and Kadence. But it's not quite over for them yet. Trouble is brewing and things may just blow up in their faces. Or not. Guess you'll have to read the next chapter to find out. Reviews are appreciated and flames will be used to roast marshmellows. I just bought a fresh pack so... yeah. Thanks. **_Phoenix_**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** Hello, hello! More chapter for you! And... yeah. That's all. Phoenix, you're still a goose.

* * *

"Uh," she stammered and picked up her clipboard. "Mr. Harris, I'm Doctor Mary Taylor, I'm head of the Child Psychology department of this hospital…"

Chris raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest.

"And," she continued. "This is Matthew Cardwell, he is a social worker."

Lily's jaw dropped, and Chris was visibly tensing up – Kady saw her parents' reactions to that news and decided that this could not be a good thing.

"What?" Lily said.

"Its hospital policy when a child comes in with self-inflicted wounds," Mr. Cardwell explained. "That an investigation be launched into the welfare of that child at home, that's why Doctor Taylor came to speak to you and your daughter, Ms. Myers. It was revealed to her by Kadence that there were some serious problems between you and her father."

"Wait. Wait… why is social services involved?" Chris asked and moved over to Kady, instinctively and protectively putting his arms around her, drawing her close to him and she didn't resist. Lily saw them together and her heart fluttered and part of her could hardly believe it especially when Kady rested her head back against Chris' chest and appeared relaxed and even comfortable. That's exactly the sort of thing she had wanted for all three of them, once upon a time. Matthew opened a file.

"It's simply a standard practice."

"We wanted to conduct an interview with Ms. Myers here about her daughter, and then another one with young Kady here," Mary added, sitting on one of the seats by the bed and putting her bag down next to her.

"Sure make yourself at home, bitch." Kady muttered sarcastically so that only Chris could hear and he resisted laughing.

"And where was I in all of this, don't you think I should've been told?" he pointed out, somewhat pissed off that it was looking like he wasn't going to be consulted about something of this serious nature.

"Well, your daughter told us you had left the state," Mary countered. "We were going to notify authorities to send someone to speak with you in Florida. Not that it matters much now, it's good that all three of you are here."

"Its not like I'm going anywhere," Lily told her.

"Indeed," Matthew replied. "But we need to conduct an evaluation."

"Evaluation for what?" Chris demanded. "Quit sugarcoating this and tell us what the hell you're doing here?"

"Mr. Harris," Mary cut in. "I should warn you that your attitude along with your propensity for violence and a short temper—"

"Violence? Short temper? Dude, he's a wrestler," Kady said and gripped Chris' arm, squeezing it and he hugged her a bit closer in response.

"In any case, I have to warn you that we are monitoring your behavior, as well as your former partner's," Mary looked at Lily and then back at him. "To determine an appropriate course of action regarding—"

"You wanna take my baby away!" Lily interrupted, loudly. "No! Over my dead body!"

She tried to move but yelled out when the pain became too much and within seconds, Chris and Kady were at her side, telling her to lay back and relax.

"Give her water," he instructed Kady and she did as she was told. After a few more seconds, Lily relaxed and allowed the pain to subside. "You okay, Lil?"

"Peachy fucking keen…" she croaked out.

"And you guys wanna interview my mom while she's like this?" Kady accused, glaring at them with renewed menace. As much as she often deliberately antagonized Lily and considering that there was minimal trust between them, Lily was still her mother and while she was in this state, Kady would be damned before these two morons made her feel even worse.

"Miss," Matthew said. "I'm sorry. But the evaluation must go ahead…"

"She's fucking in pain here! I doubt she'd be much help. Gee, you people really must be proud of yourselves for doing this to her!" Kady was on the verge of screaming at them until Chris put his hands on her shoulders and whispered in her ear.

"Kadence, quiet. Don't make things worse."

"But—"

"Stay with Lily."

He let her go and turned around to confront this new problem that he was sure was nothing more than a misunderstanding. What Lily had said seconds earlier almost winded him; the thought of the State taking Kady away from them now, after everything they've been through.

"Can I speak with you both?" he asked, walking past the doctor and the social worker and straight out the door. Matthew and Mary looked at each other but ended up following him from the room; Mary closing the door behind her as they stepped out into the main hallway. When Chris turned around, he was fuming. "Tell me what is going on. Now."

"Sir, I'm sorry—"

"Is it true?" he demanded. "What Lily said in there?"

"We simply need to ask you, Kady, and Lily some questions, that's all…" Mary assured him and Chris started pacing back and forth.

"To determine whether or not to take our daughter away from us?"

"That's not—"

"Yes or no, doctor. No bullshit. No pretenses. Give me the bottom line. Why are you really here?"

Mary sighed and hated being put in this awkward position; usually when speaking to kids like Kady it would be her job to recommend a removal or not to child services, like she would have to this time. The concern she read in Chris' eyes was enlightening in the sense that she could tell he cared about his child, and obviously that's a good thing.

"Fine," she said, exhaling deeply. "Yes, Mr. Cardwell and I are here to determine whether or not to recommend emergency removal of Kadence Myers from the custody of her mother and yourself. Even though you haven't been in her life, since you are her father, you automatically have custodial rights. Sir, after the injuries Kady inflicted on herself and her telling me of the events that occurred over the past week, it's only responsible that we check this out—"

"This is fucking ridiculous!" Chris responded, and was failing to keep his calm. So many times this past week alone he'd almost lost Kady again and now, to think that a power higher than himself was going to be responsible for taking her away, after everything - he wouldn't let it happen. "I love my daughter. Lily adores her; she's a wonderful mother!"

"Wonderful mothers don't slap their children and act the way Lily does," Matthew told him, in a tone of total authority. "You haven't been in Kady's life until now and, from what she's told us, she cut herself after an argument with you!"

"I brushed her off once and she got upset! It's getting better and I won't let you take our child from us!"

"You may not have a choice, Mr. Harris, that's what we're saying," Mary pointed out, weary of his attitude. "Just answer a few questions for us and the determination will be made."

"I won't put Kady through this. I won't put Lily through this, either. Both have serious injuries and they want privacy so, you'll have to come back another time." Chris said and walked over to the door with the intention of getting away from these two before he lost his temper. He closed the door only to give the three of them privacy, though didn't notice that it only closed part way. He saw that Kady and Lily were now talking and another wall seemed to have been broken.

"Chris, what's happened?" Kady stood up, turning at the same time, just as he walked up to her and gave her a quick hug to reassure her. The look on his face told Lily that something was up.

"I'm taking care of it," he said. "Don't worry yourselves over it."

"Are they gonna be putting me in one of those gross foster homes?" Kady queried, crinkling her nose at the thought of being put into one of those places.

"No!" he told her firmly. "You're not going anywhere. Trust me, I got it under control."

None of them saw Matthew Cardwell observing them through the small opening in the doorway. Mary had left seconds earlier to go make a phone call to Matthew's supervisor to give him an update on the case so far. Through the crack of the door opening, he couldn't hear what was being said but the way they were acting towards each other was speaking enough for him. When he had spoken with Mary, she had made it seem like this child was going through hell on earth, but it certainly wasn't looking like it.

Chris had his arms around his daughter in a protective embrace and they were both talking with Lily, all were calm and they looked like a family. Matthew had been in his business for many years and his gut often told him the severity of situations and most of the time he was right. From what he sensed, this was nowhere close to being a situation which would demand Kady's removal. Satisfied that he had seen enough, Matthew walked off and made some notes in his file.

"Family structure satisfactory," He muttered, verbally reiterating the last point he had written. But Mary, he knew, would not be happy about this. As he came in to the entranceway of the hospital, he saw Mary talking on her cellphone. Knowing that she was on the phone to his boss, Matthew walked over and took the phone from her hand.

"Tom, it's Matthew. I've decided that we should step back on this case. They seem to be coming together and working out whatever problems they had so I see no reason to remove the child." Matthew told his boss calmly. Mary looked at him in shock.

"Monitoring the situation for the next... six months will let us know if I made the right decision. If the child ends up in hospital again for similar reasons, then I would suggest removal. Until then, I think she'll be okay." Matthew continued, explaining his decision to his boss and Mary at the same time. He ended the call with Tom and handed Mary's phone back to her.

"I can't believe you just did that." Mary stated. Matthew smirked.

"And I can't believe you were trying to go over my head. Excuse me while I go and explain the change of situation to the family." He told her before walking back down the hall. When he reached Lily's room, he knocked quietly on the door. Chris pulled the door open and glared at the man menacingly.

"I thought I told you to come back later. Neither of them are in any shape to answer questions." Chris reiterated his earlier sentiments.

"Just thought you might like to know that things have changed. From what I've seen, I'd say that Kadence is not in any extreme danger. There's no reason for her to be removed from the care of her parents." Matthew told him honestly.

"You're serious?" Chris asked, amazed by what he'd just been told.

"Very. The three of you will be monitored for six months, however. If my instincts tell me that Kadence is in any kind of danger due to you and Lily, I will not hesitate to have her removed – I won't waste time talking it over. Sound fair?" Matthew wondered with a hint of a smile.

"Yeah, that's fair. Thank you. You have no idea how much this means." Chris returned the smile, his whole demeanor changing.

"Go and enjoy time with your daughter." Matthew told him before shaking his hand and walking away. Chris walked back into Lily's room and smiled at the sight of Kady curled up beside Lily on the bed. Lily had one arm around her daughter protectively, not wanting to let her go for fear of her being taken away.

"What are you smiling about?" Kady wondered, seeing the look on her father's face. She was worried that maybe he was happy about the fact that she could be taken away, even if he had said he wouldn't let it happen.

"Some good news, for a change." Chris replied with a wink. The confusion on his daughter's face was priceless. He felt like holding off on telling her the news but caught the serious look on Lily's face.

"What news would that be?" Lily asked, prompting Chris to tell them.

"Kady's not going anywhere. The social worker says we'll be monitored for six months and, if things are okay, that's it. If Kady seems to be in any danger, though, they'll remove her, no questions asked." Chris relayed the message he'd received outside.

"Are you serious? Oh my god! That's so great!" Kady screamed, removing herself from Lily's embrace and jumping off the bed in order to hug her father.

Lily watched the easy interaction between father and daughter with mixed feelings. On one hand, she was happy that Kady wasn't going to be taken away from her. On the other, it now meant that the situation between Lily and Chris would have to be sorted out completely for their daughter's sake. Lily just wasn't sure how they were going to figure it out. She'd be damned if she'd let Chris spend any time alone with Kady, for fear that he might upset her and make her cut herself again.

"Right, well... now that that's sorted, can I borrow your cellphone, Chris? I think I should call Danny and talk things over with him." Kady decided as she pulled herself out of her father's arms.

"Sure, baby. Here." Chris agreed, pulling his phone from his pocket and handing it to Kady.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go back to my room for privacy's sake. You two have a lot to talk about and I don't want to see either one of you again until you come to some sort of agreement about Chris being part of my life, got it?" Kady warned seriously, waving a finger between her parents. Chris looked at Lily who raised an eyebrow in response.

"Yes, boss." He told Kady, reaching out to mess up her hair a little.

"Dude! Not the hair!" Kady protested, pushing his hand away before walking out of the room – smoothing her hair down as she went.

Chris turned his attention back to Lily who was visibly paling by the second. He figured that she hadn't been expecting this situation to arise as soon as it had. Pulling a chair over towards the bed before sitting in it, Chris took a deep breath.

"Guess the kid has a point. We need to work this out, Lil." He told her calmly.

"I know we do. I just don't know how to go about it. I'm... I'm worried, Chris. I really am." Lily admitted.

"Worried? About what?" Chris wondered, confused.

"About Kady getting hurt, or hurting herself again. All it would take would be you brushing her off without meaning to. She's not used to your mood swings, barely manages to deal with her own... I just don't want her to end up killing herself next time." Lily told him.

"There won't be a next time. I'm serious about wanting to be part of her life. I know I've got a lot to learn about how to deal with her but I want to do it. I won't brush her off again... I've learned from that mistake, believe me. I know now that the best thing for Kady is for me to be totally honest with her. If I'm pissed off about something and she wants to know, then I'll tell her. I guess the same deal should apply to you and I as well. Total honesty, Lil. It's the only way we'll get through this thing without wanting to kill each other." Chris figured.

"Even if the honest truth is that I don't want you to be alone with Kady – for the sake of her safety?" Lily questioned.

"Even then. I know where you're coming from with that... I can understand it. I know I have to earn your trust when it comes to spending time with Kady. I'm not expecting you to just hand her over to me with no thought to her safety... that wouldn't be right. You're her mother and, ultimately, it's your decision whether I will have any place in her life other than fleeting moments with you watching our every move. I don't have the right to ask for more than that, yet." Chris replied honestly.

Lily was a little amazed by this side of Chris. He was being completely calm and understanding, almost like the person she knew him to be throughout their relationship. She had to remind herself of what was on the line here, however – Kady's future, her happiness... her life. Could Lily put up with Chris in any sort of capacity in order to let their daughter get to know him? She sighed as she thought it over and Chris caught the uncertainty in her eyes.

"I don't deserve to be given another chance, I know that. All I'm asking is that we consider what would be best for Kady. She said herself that she wanted us to work out an agreement for me to be part of her life – that means she clearly wants me around. I'm determined to be there for her for as long as it is that she wants me there. But I can't do that without your permission, Lil. It's all up to you." Chris shrugged, knowing he wouldn't give up being in Kady's life, no matter what Lily said now.

If he had to, he'd go to a lawyer and get permanent access visits put in place. Right now, he was hoping that wouldn't be needed and that Lily would give him the chance he'd been longing for since he walked out on them all those years ago. He watched several different emotions flow over her face and could almost see what she was thinking – he'd always known how to read her.

"I... I guess we need to work some stuff out then. I can't say no to this and you know it. Kady would never forgive me if I did. I just... I don't know how we're going to make it work. Kady and I live in Florida now, you don't. That's going to make things hard in terms of any kind of visitation. Kady's going to be starting school again soon... I won't have that messed with. This is huge, Chris... so much to consider." Lily figured.

"I agree that her schooling shouldn't be messed with at all so at least we're on the same page with that. If you want me to move to Florida to make things easier, I'll do it. I'll do whatever it takes." Chris decided. Lily looked at him in shock.

"You'd really move to Florida?" She asked skeptically.

"For Kady... yeah. I'd do anything." Chris nodded seriously. He meant it with all his heart, too, and Lily could see that.

"I don't think that's needed just yet. I mean, we're going to have to take it slowly. Until I know I can trust you with her completely, I think you should only see her when she comes to work with me – if we both still have jobs with TNA, that is." Lily offered, wondering if he'd accept that.

"It's a start. I appreciate that. I'm pretty sure you'll still have your job. It's not like you planned to get hit by a car or anything. Me, on the other hand... my future is in Andy Douglas' hands. That makes me very worried." Chris smiled slightly, even though he was nervous about the prospect of not having a job to go back to.

"I'm sure Andy will make the right decision, no matter what it may be. Do you think we should talk to Kady about what we've come up with?" Lily wondered.

"Of course. I'll go get her." Chris offered, getting to his feet.

"Chris... I know you care about her. I'm sorry it's taken this long for me to see it." Lily spoke quietly. Chris smiled to himself upon hearing this and turned back to face her.

"I never stopped caring. I guess it just took me a while to realize what I needed to do for her... and for myself." Chris admitted. Lily nodded and Chris continued out of the room to go and get Kady. When he got to her room, he stood outside the slightly open door and listened to the end of Kady's conversation with Danny over the phone.

"You'll always be my freak boy. I'll talk to you later, okay? I think I should go check if mom's killed Chris yet." Kady said before saying goodbye and ending the call. Chris knocked on the door and Kady's turned to face him.

"Hey. So... what happened?" She asked him hesitantly. Chris smiled.

"I'm still alive, doesn't that kind of answer your question?" He teased.

"It tells me that mom wasn't able to reach you from her bed in order to strangle you. Seriously, what happened?" Kady pressed, wanting more information from him.

"We talked some stuff through, came up with an idea. Let's go back to Lily's room and we'll tell you about it." Chris told her, holding out a hand to Kady. She dropped his cellphone into it and then led the way from the room.

"You're not going to give me a head's up on this?" Kady wondered as they walked.

"Like I said, I'm still alive. That should tell you more than enough." Chris smiled.

"You're really annoying, ya know that?"

"Yes, I'm well aware of that fact. It's something I seem to have passed on to you."

"Jerk." Kady muttered.

"Brat." Chris countered.

Kady shoved him slightly and Chris put his arm around her shoulders, bringing her in for a one-armed hug. Kady allowed him to keep his arm around her as they walked into Lily's room. Chris motioned for Kady to sit in the chair he'd been sitting in earlier and she complied quickly, wanting to know what they'd come up with. She looked between Chris and Lily, wondering who was going to say something first. When it appeared that they were trying to figure out the same thing, she finally burst.

"Someone tell me what's going on. I don't care which one of you does it, just put me out of my misery already." She told them.

Chris motioned for Lily to go ahead, figuring that she was the major parental figure in Kady's life so she should be the one to bring up any changes to that life. Lily took a deep breath and tried to work out where to start. Chris could sense her problem and sat on the bed gently, catching Lily's attention.

"Total honesty, remember." He told her. Lily nodded and finally figured out what to say.

"We've decided that, to start with, you and Chris should only spend time together when you're with me at TNA events. I'm not comfortable with the idea of you spending time alone with him just yet." She told Kady honestly, wondering how her daughter would react to it.

Kady thought it over for a few moments before looking down at the bandage on her arm. She knew that her cutting herself was the reason her mother wasn't happy with the idea of her being alone with Chris. It was a precautionary measure, considering the social worker had said they'd be monitored. Kady looked up again, directing her eyes towards Chris. He seemed happy with the idea that had been presented, as did Lily – although Kady could sense her mother's apprehension. She was probably just waiting for Kady to flip out or whatever. She was about to be pleasantly surprised.

"I can handle that. It makes sense." Kady told them. Lily visibly relaxed, letting out a breath she'd been holding.

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

Lily and Kady arrived at Orlando Studios around 4 hours before the Sacrifice PPV was to begin. Already the backstage area was chaotic with wrestlers and crew members all rushing around to get things done before the show kicked off. Kady followed her mother to her office, dumping her backpack before turning to leave again.

"Hold it! Where do you think you're going?" Lily wondered.

"To find Chris. You guys did say I could hang out with him while I was here." Kady pointed out.

"I also said I didn't want your schoolwork to suffer. How much homework have you got?"

"Not much. I'll do it tomorrow, I swear." Kady told her, a touch of pleading showing through in her voice. She hadn't seen Chris since Lily had been released from the hospital and she was dying to know how things had been resolved with Andy. She knew, from the card for the show tonight, that AMW had their return match against The Naturals for the titles. Lily watched as her daughter dropped to her knees, hands clenched in front of her in a sign of begging. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, alright, go. Just stay out of trouble, you hear me?" Lily warned. Kady nodded and practically ran from the room.

Deciding that her father was probably carbo-loading, she made her way towards the catering area. As she was headed through an intersection in hallways, a voice called out from behind her.

"Hey, ya little freak! Where's my hello?"

Kady spun around and rolled her eyes upon seeing who it was. There, standing with two other guys, was Sterling. Kady walked over to them and shrugged.

"Guess it got lost in the post." She told him. Sterling laughed and shook his head before turning to the people he was with.

"Austin, Rod... this is Kadence Myers. Kady, this is Austin Aries and Roderick Strong." He introduced. Kady nodded at both guys in greeting.

"So this is the little run away that made you miss that show, huh?" Austin smirked.

"Yup, the one and only." Sterling nodded before turning back to Kady.

"How are things going?" He asked her, remembering the scene the last time he'd seen her.

"Dude, you have no idea. Things got really bad for a while there, but they're getting better now."

"How's your mom?" Sterling queried with a wink, reminding Kady of the motel story without saying anything about it.

"Gross dude... just don't go there. I don't need those images again!" She fumed, smacking him on the arm gently.

"Seriously, how is she? Her and Chris working things out?" He pushed.

"They're starting to. All it took was mom getting hit by a car and me trying to kill myself. Brilliant, no?" Kady replied, rolling her eyes again.

"I'll... talk to you guys later." Sterling told Roderick and Austin before grabbing Kady's arm and pulling her away from them.

"What the hell? You tried to kill yourself?" He asked, barely able to hide his disbelief. Sure, he was aware that she was a screwed up kid but... he never thought she'd get that far. Kady rolled up the sleeve of her shirt and showed Sterling her scar. It was healing quite nicely.

"Like I said, things got really bad. But mom, Chris and I have worked things out. I'm allowed to see Chris when I come here with mom." Kady explained. Sterling felt way out of the loop. The last time he'd seen Kady, she'd been telling both her parents to go to hell. Now, she was talking as if they were a happy family.

"I've missed way too much. You guys worked things out, though? That's good." He figured.

"Yeah. Wait... are you signed here now?" Kady wondered, finally realizing their surroundings.

"No, I'm not. Just came to visit a few people – Austin being one of them." Sterling told her.

"Liar. You were hoping to run into my mom again, weren't you?" Kady joked. Sterling looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.

"You got me. I've been dreaming about her since the motel thing... I can't get her out of my head." He agreed, laying it on thick. Kady laughed and reached out to shove him. Sterling caught her hand and shook his head.

"You already got a free shot on me – hitting me in front of Austin and Rod. The next one will cost you." He warned, his dark demeanor returning.

"Fine, fine. I'll remember that." She told him, pulling her hand free and looked down the hallway, spotting Raven heading towards them.

"Uh oh. I have to go talk to Raven, okay? I'll see ya later." She told him before heading for Raven. Sterling watched in puzzlement, wondering what business she could possibly have with Raven, of all people.

"Hey, Scott." Kady greeted him. Scott looked up in surprise and smirked slightly when he saw her.

"You know, if you were my personal assistant, you'd be fired now." He told her.

"My heart breaks, it really does." Kady retorted.

Scott laughed slightly and motioned for Kady to step into his locker room with him. She hadn't noticed that that's where they were standing. Taking the invitation, Kady stepped through the door and looked around. Scott's bag wasn't visible and Kady wondered if he'd learned from their past experience to lock it up. Turning back to face him, Kady took a deep breath.

"Look, I just wanted to clear the air between us. I shouldn't have stolen money from you so... I'm sorry." She told him, wasting no time in getting to the point. Scott looked at her in major shock. Who was this kid? Surely it wasn't the same one that he'd had past dealings with. She seemed completely different... more at peace.

"I appreciate that. Thanks. What brought it on, though?" He wondered. Kady shrugged.

"I've done a whole lot of growing up just recently. Seen the light, I guess." She admitted without going into detail.

"That's good, kid. If you ever need anything, let me know. It helps to have friends in this place." Scott offered. Kady smiled genuinely and thanked him before making an excuse to leave. She still wanted to find her father.

Turning the corner at the end of the hall, she finally came to the catering area. Looking around it, she sighed dejectedly. Chris wasn't there. Surveying the room again, she spotted someone that might be able to tell her where he was. Walking over to the table the person was at, she cleared her throat to get his attention. The guy jumped in surprise, looking up from his plate of food with wide eyes.

"Kady! Girl, don't do that!" James Storm muttered, holding a hand to his heart and feeling it racing.

"Sorry. Do you know where Chris is?" She asked quickly, not wanting to spend more time with James than she had to.

"Locker room, going over a script with Jarrett." James answered, grabbing the beer bottle from the table in front of him. As he raised it to his lips, Kady took it away. She walked over to the trashcan and dropped the bottle into it with a satisfying thunk.

"Hey! What the hell did you do that for?" James protested, now standing over the trashcan, looking down into it.

"You don't always want to be thought of as a drunken, hick cowboy, do you? Besides, I just did you a favor. You've got a big match tonight, you'll need a clear head." Kady shrugged before leaving the catering area to continue her search for her father.

Once she'd managed to locate his locker room, Kady wondered if she should interrupt Chris and Jeff Jarrett while they were going over the script. Deciding to wait until Jarrett had left, Kady stood across the hall from the door, leaning against the wall. She didn't have to wait long before the door was opened and Jarrett stepped out, followed by Chris.

"Thanks, Jeff. I really appreciate this, man." Chris told the blond man as they exited the room.

"I know you do. Just remember what I said and keep your head in the match this time, okay? Douglas doesn't need another hospital stay." Jarrett warned.

"I know, I know. I don't think there'll be any problem there tonight. Although I completely expect him to bust me open." Chris laughed, knowing he wouldn't blame Andy for doing it.

"I'll make sure to have EMT's standing by." Jarrett chuckled. Chris finally caught sight of Kady and opened his arms to her.

"Come here, baby girl." He told her. Kady didn't hesitate in moving in for a hug. Jarrett looked down at her and smirked.

"The little troublemaker, herself." He teased.

"Something like that. Kady, this is Jeff Jarrett. Jeff, my daughter, Kady." Chris introduced. Kady held her hand out to shake Jeff's and he complied politely.

"I'm not a troublemaker. Just a product of my environment." She assured him.

"Or your genes," Jarrett commented, smirking at Chris. "Seems to run in the family."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, man."

"Well you still got a lot to prove yet, Chris. More specifically your sanity. Remember, if anything happens out there tonight it's gonna be my neck they'll have for this, too," Jarrett turned slightly serious.

"Don't worry about it, I get it!"

"That's what you said last time..."

"I think he gets the point," Kady defended Chris. "He's got no reason to snap now. I haven't done anything yet to make him wanna put anyone in the hospital again."

"I guess I should be thanking my lucky stars then," Jarrett nodded. "Fans have been wondering about you Chris; the Internet wrestling community was in an uproar. Don't blow this last chance."

After exchanging farewells, Jarrett excused himself to go find a few of the other wrestlers to discuss that night's show, and left Chris and Kady to finally get a chance to catch up. It had been a couple of weeks since they last saw each other and therefore they were going to make the best of each visit they got. Lily had stressed the importance of all of them adhering to the agreed upon conditions. After Jarrett was out of sight and they were alone, Chris turned to his daughter to get a proper look at her. She was still dressed in her usual goth attire, though looked entirely different from when he first saw her over a month earlier. No longer was she darkened by sullenness or pain, and it showed. He pulled her to him for another hug.

"It's good to see ya, kid," he told her, honestly, and looked down at her. Kady rolled her eyes and tried to remain passive and indifferent, but couldn't stop a smile spreading across her face. Chris noticed her attempts to try hide her happiness to see him, and teased, "Oh come on, you're gonna have to do better than that. Goths are supposed to hate everything."

She responded by hitting him on his arm. "Dude, that's not funny!"

"I think it's hilarious," he taunted back and jumped out of the way before her fist could connect with his arm again.

"You're such a pain in the ass." Kady commented and they began walking down the hall, not attempting to push him away when he put his arm around her shoulder.

"And you're a pain in the everything. But I still love ya!"

"Oh gee, thats so sweet, it almost makes me wanna hurl."

"What a charming daughter I have." Chris grinned.

"You're deliberately baiting me, aren't you?" Kady guessed, scowling.

"Hell yes."

They proceded to walk further until the long, winding hallway led to a larger area at the end, which was the backstage area that would lead out onto the stage. The place was crowded, bustling with wrestlers who had either just completed their match or who were just about to go out, as well as loads of TNA personnel doing their thing. It was easy to get lost, so Chris quietly told her to stay close. And they did get quite a few odd stares and people whispering to each other. What had happened with Chris Harris and this girl was no longer a secret; it had exploded into fueling backstage gossip, but both paid no attention to it.

"Harris!"

Chris looked back just as Kady did, and saw Andy Douglas, as well as Chase Stevens approaching them. There was still another match to come.

"Hey," he greeted them, remaining courteous yet still somewhat tense. "You guys ready to get your asses kicked again?"

"Treading on thin ice there, ain't ya Chris?" Andy smiled. "If anyone is going to get busted open tonight, it's you."

Chase directed his attention to Kady, who was looking around, apparently disinterested but he could see she was intentionally trying to distract herself. She was the central reason why all of the shit had gone down a month ago.

"So things are working out?" he asked, cautiously.

"What's it to you?" Kady challenged, lightly.

"Well, considering my partner here got his head cracked open because your dad went nuts, I'd kinda like to have a heads up if it's gonna happen again..." Chase replied, though was equally as friendly. "Ya know, just so I can make sure I'm out of state when Chris wants to go on another crazy trip like that."

"Fair enough," she countered. "God knows that no one wants to see any violence out there."

Kady then looked at Andy. "Speaking of which... you're gonna take it easy on Chris out there, right?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know what I mean. Try not to kill him. Anything short of depriving him of oxygen would be good, because I still need to have my time to torture him for back birthday and Christmas presents," she explained with amazing self-assurance. Chris burst out laughing at that, and Chase too had to stifle a laugh, though Andy met her look of indifference.

"Kid, you're dad gave me the worst fucking headache of my life. I think it's only fair that I return the favour."

"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" Chris protested.

"No." Kady and Andy replied simulataneously, and then went back to focusing on each other.

"Seriously though," Kady continued. "Can you sorta not kill him yet? I still would sorta like to have my time with him before you do."

"Aww you do care!" Chris joked, pretending to be so touched, and his daughter replied with a half-hearted smile. Andy scoffed and reached out for his bottle of water that was on the table next to them, while still looking at her with an air of cockiness about him.

"Kid, bite me."

Without even thinking, Kady's hand shot out and grabbed Andy's wrist and before he could retract his hand, she quickly leant down and bit his hand!

"AHHH FUCK!" Andy jumped back and protectively held his hand to his chest, while Chase and Chris almost doubled over, laughing hysterically. Kady stood her ground and put her hands on her hips, smiling proudly at her acheivement and the ultimate – and kind of ironic – payback on Andy Douglas. Andy was quick to catch on and her let out a frustrated groan, realising that she just got one up on him. "DAMN IT!"

"Payback isn't a bitch," Kady told him. "I am."

Chris managed to regain some control of himself, though was still having trouble stopping the laughter. Andy had been beat by a fourteen-year-old kid!

"That's my girl!" he praised Kady and hugged her.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up!" Andy muttered and slapped Chase upside his head, feeling somewhat betrayed.

"What was that for?"

"For being an asshole!"

"Come on that was friggen hilarious, vampire."

Andy turned and walked off, his ego having taken enough of a beating from all three of them.

"At least we've found a way to piss Andy Douglas off even further," Kady commented and was very pleased with her efforts. "Serves him right for messing with me."

"You should come with a warning label, kid," Chase agreed. "Dangerous hazard."

"Only when I'm ticked off," Kady smiled.

"Whatever you say," he replied and looked at Chris. "Anyway, seeya out there man. Be prepared to bleed."

"Chase, not in front of my kid," Chris warned, fearing Kady's reaction if he was to be wheeled out of the arena on a gurney, bleeding. She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hey, it don't matter to me. I like blood. Just don't die. You still owe me."

"Charming."

"As always."

Chase left them alone again and barely one second since his departure did it take for Lily to approach them from behind, tapping Chris on the shoulder.

* * *

**A/N:** Review? Please? Umm... and I'll sit here and wait for Phoenix to post the next chapter, I guess. She pulled an all-nighter again last night, so who the hell knows where she is now. Anyway, much love to you all!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** Hi! waves Phoenix, I'm not a nut! I'm misunderstood! You're still the goose. Anyway, in this chapter things heat up a bit again and Kady gets herself into a world of trouble yet again, but this time it could prove to be very dangerous. Also, someone comes to Lily's rescue. So It's all getting good now, folks! **_Lizzie_**

* * *

"What was all that about?" she asked, curious after catching the last few bits of that conversation.

"Oh nothing. Just giving Andy a bite of reality," Kady told her. Lily wasn't sure she wanted to know anymore and trusted that the joke would remain between them.

"Oooookay," she said slowly. "I won't ask anymore. Anyway, Jarrett wanted me to _inform_ you that your match is next and... where the heck is Storm?"

"Probably passed out in the back," Chris shrugged. "I swear, if he is, I'll make him fight the damn match alone. Andy can take his rage out on him."

"Partner loyalty. Nice one, Chris," she said and checked her clipboard with the notes that had been given to her earlier that date and made sure that she was giving him all the right information. She had settled into her job nicely and was actually enjoying the whole process and the excitement that went on backstage. Lily still had a lot of pain from her accident, though it was being managed with pain killers now, so some of her duties she struggled to get through (like going around and finding the required people to speak with or hand out scripts, etc.), but overall she was okay.

"I do what I can," he casually replied. "We're the best tag team there is anyway. It won't be much of a challenge."

"Yeah," Kady chimed in. "And it's not like Andy, Chase, and all those fans out there aren't after your head or anything."

"Kady, go do your homework. Chris, wait here and I'll go find James," Lily instructed them both.

"But mo—"

"Before you say 'but mom', there is no way I'm letting you down at ringside, Kady," she continued, remembering back a conversation she and her daughter had earlier that day. Kady wanted to be at ringside to see The Naturals and AMW beat the shit out of each other and see who would be the last one standing. Of course, both Lily and Chris said no way to her request. "Go!"

Kady sulked and reluctantly started towards the office area where she had left her backpack in Lily's office.

"Hey!" Chris called out to her and she stopped and turned around. "There's a good chance I could really get a beating out there, so can I ask for a little support?"

She paused and nodded, taking the hint and returning to him. The two hugged, and as they did Kady couldn't help but breathe in her father's scent and it still sent shivers down her spine, because she wasn't yet used to it. Everything was surreal to her and she couldn't believe she finally had him in her life. Hopefully her mother would see how much they wanted to be together and would relax the restrictions on their visits.

"Good luck. Do me a favour and don't die out there. Kick their asses."

Chris chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I'll be okay. I'll try."

Lily, meanwhile, wanted to resist the sweetness of watching them and each time she saw them together, it was becoming more and more like a father/daughter image, though that was far from what they were really like. There was still so far for them to go, but the progression of their relationship so far was phenomenal. And as much as she hated to admit it to herself, Chris was doing a very good job in putting the effort into being a responsible father... he reminded her of how he was when they were together, when Kady was a baby – and although things could never be like they were, it was good to reminise on better times.

"Awww I swear I've never seen a better kodak moment!" came a southern drawl from behind Lily. All three saw James walk over to them, carrying a beer bottle as usual and he stopped next to Lily, though looked at his partner. "Ready to kick some Natural ass?"

"Somehow I think I'm the one that's gonna get the beating," Chris confessed and both Lily and Kady noticed a worried look pass over his face. "This is one match I ain't looking forward to."

"Since when did you get scared of The Naturals?" James pointed out. "Everyone knows we're better than them."

"It's more than that, man," his partner replied. "Look, forget it. Let's just do this."

"Jarrett also said that there's gonna be an interference..." Lily said.

Both men turned to her.

"And you decided to tell us this _now_?" Chris replied, increduously.

"Well I couldn't bring it up until now," Lily explained. "Jarrett didn't give me anymore information than that."

It was then that the familiar notes of music started, indicating that it was match time and AMW were the first out...

Minutes later, both teams of America's Most Wanted and The Naturals stood in the ring, facing each other in a fierce staredown – Andy was practically drilling holes into Chris with his restrained anger. The crowd was hot, screaming and cheering for The Naturals while booing and jeering Chris and James, but all four of them blocked it out and focused on their opponents. There was no doubt this was going to be an intense battle not only for the titles, but for revenge on the part of The Naturals. Don West and Mike Tenay at the announcers desk were already hyping this match as amounting to one of the most hate-filled, much anticipated matches of the year so far.

James pushed Chris towards the ropes, signifying that he wanted to go first. Chase tried the same thing with Andy but he'd have none of it and motioned that he wanted Chris in the ring with him. Chris smirked, stepping into his role as a heel easily. The crowd already hated him for what he'd done to Andy the last time the two teams had met. James took control quickly, not wanting to stand around anymore. He reached out and shoved Andy. Chase got out of the ring as Andy moved in to shove James back.

Unfortunately, James' height and weight advantage meant that Andy's shove didn't do much, other than make James laugh. The laughter served to make Andy more angry and he ran to the ropes, bouncing off and hitting James with a cross body. James caught him effortlessly and readjusted before throwing Andy over his head. Chris cheered his partner on, only to be on the receiving end of loud booing from the crowd. He shuddered, knowing they probably wanted his blood just as much as Andy did.

After a little more backwards and forwards action between Andy and James, Andy finally gave in and tagged out to Chase. James looked towards Chris who nodded and stretched his hand out. Before James could reach him, Chase tripped him with a drop toehold and rolled him over quickly in a pin attempt. James managed to get his shoulder up (which provoked a few cheers, strangely) as the ref called for the two count. Chase got to his feet and made his way towards a turn buckle, planning on hitting James with an aerial move. James, however, crawled over to Chris and tagged out.

Chris came into the ring and bounced off the ropes nearest the turnbuckle Chase was perched on. The vibrations made Chase lose his footing and he slipped, his legs on either side of the turnbuckle in a painful predicament. Chris grabbed Chase's head under his arm and delivered a suplex, dropping Chase to the mat. He rolled him up in a pin attempt but Andy came in and broke it up. Chase rolled from the ring as Chris and Andy stood, face to face in the ring. The crowd began chanting 'hurt him, Andy' and Andy nodded, fully intending to give the fans what they wanted.

Chris backed up slightly, looking for James to tag out to. Andy caught Chris by the wrist and pulled him in, hitting him with a clothesline that dazed him a little. Andy followed up with kicks to the backs of Chris' knees before running to the ropes and back, delivering a running chop block. Chris stumbled to his knees, only to have Andy dropkick him in the back. Once Chris was on the mat, Andy perched over his prone body and began beating him with tightly clenched fists. The crowd roared their approval as Chris tried to fend off the smaller man.

As much as he knew he deserved this, Chris wasn't about to take it lying down. He got his legs up and used them to shove Andy away from him, giving him a small amount of time to regain his senses. As he got to his feet, blood slowly trickled down his face.

He turned, again looking for James to make a tag... only James wasn't there! Chase had gone around the ring and pulled him off the apron and the two were now brawling on the outside, much like they had during the last match. This time, Chris damned his partner for liking to fight.

Andy looked down at the blood on his fist before smirking. There wasn't nearly enough there yet. He spun Chris back to face him and delivered a few more right hands to the face, Chris getting in minimal left handed shots. Andy ran for the ropes and hit Chris with a flying clothesline, once again taking him down to the mat. Having Chris prone made it a lot easier for the smaller man to continue the beating.

Meanwhile, while all this action was going on in the ring and the excitement backstage as to the match picked up heat, Kady was wandering around completely bored out of her mind, with her books under one arm. Lily was off doing her thing, so there was no way she could force her into doing her homework, or even keep track of her in any way. Not being able to concentrate on her work, Kady walked the hallway with no particular destination in mind and left this world behind and entered into her own world, thinking about everything and anything that she could. Five minutes later, she arrived at the locker room of AMW and looked over her shoulders. No one was around, so she pushed the door open and walked in. For obvious reasons, there was no one there and the only noise came from the monitor in the corner which gave her the opportunity to watch the match.

Kady sat on a nearby seat and dumped her books on the table next to her, and sighed wistfully. Bored, bored, bored. Nothing to do. Homework? With all this excitement going on around her? Not likely. She figured that she was in no real hurry to do the work her class was assigned the day before, and so focused all her attention on the monitor that sat not too far away. From what she could see, Andy was laying into Chris pretty good and Kady smirked – not maliciously, but more of being entertained. Despite her preconceived notion that wrestling was pretty much fake, all four of them were selling it well, as indicated when the camera angle shifted to the action taking place outside, where Chase had taken the advantage over James. The camera then went back to Andy and Chris, where Chris was still getting beaten on and it was seconds later in which Kady's heart almost exploded in her chest. Chris's face was now covered completely in blood and the red liquid was dripping onto his chest and onto the ring canvass.

It was a normal instinct for a child, when seeing a parent in distress, to get scared or feel the need to do something, but this was even too much for Kady and she couldn't believe Andy was trying to do to her father what had happened to him... so she looked around for anything that could possibly help Chris.

On top of James' bag, she saw it... the handcuffs. Kady could feel the beads of sweat rolling down her face and she looked back and forth between the cuffs and the monitor. She couldn't do something... could she? It was obvious that no one was going to help Chris, and James was getting beaten down by Chase.

"Screw it..." she whispered and picked up the handcuffs, and then jogged to the door and pulled it open. Now she knew how it must've felt for Chris when he saw her bleeding all over Jenna's floor... and it hurt more than she imagined it would. She definitely did _not_ like blood – at least, not pouring out of her father.

Kady knew how to work people, how to manipulate, and best of all, how to make herself invisible to everyone and everything around her. That's the number one skill any goth should master – being reclusive. As she walked hastily towards the backstage area, Kady would occasionally slow down or duck out the way, or hide behind walls whenever she encountered people. There was so much commotion going on in running the show that those who did see her barely gave her a second glance, which only worked to her benefit. Minutes later she appeared back in the main backstage control place and looked around. There's no way she could get out there without being scene, especially through the stage entrance. There had to be some other way... Kady gazed around and spotted an entrance to somewhere not far away. She looked around and over her shoulders to get the all clear and then walked over it.

She pushed the curtain out of the way and stepped into what appeared to be a storage place, as boxes and electrical equipment littered the area. On the other side there was another door. Kady crossed the room and cautiously opened the door and peered out, and straight away was almost knocked to her feet but the loudness of the crowd – that door led straight out to the side of the stage, in the main arena. Kady stood in awe of the it all. The atmosphere screamed excitement and she could only imagine the action that was going on in the ring.

At the same time, Kady didn't notice someone who had been sitting in the corner, watching her with keen interest. This goth-child seemed lost; distracted... but still, with purpose. It intrigued him. He sat up and mentally debated whether or not to go up to her, since she was dangerously close to the wires and stuff, as well as the fact that she wasn't supposed to be there. But at the same time, he didn't much care for rules and was instead fascinated by this girl, and wanted to know what she was doing. Before he could move though, Kady disappeared out through the door and it closed behind her.

Standing in the pit at the side of the stage, Kady grew more tense and nervous with each step. If and when Lily found out about this, she'd go absolutely insane and probably ground her for a month or two and lock her up in the basement. There was no one there, in that pit area, except a couple of tech guys who were working with a few cables and thus were too distracted to notice her.

"Get a grip, Kady," she told herself to build up some confidence. Chris needed help and she believed she was the only one who could do it. Maybe because it was also going to be done in front of such a large crowed, and be broadcast nationally that was also nerve wracking. With one last deep breath, Kady willed herself to step forward and stuck to the shadows until she reached the edge of the stage where the wrestlers made their entrance for their matches. She reached up and gripped the side of it and whimpered only slightly at the pressure it put on her wound, though there was no turning back now and so she pushed herself up until she got her knees up onto the stage. Her nerves were shaking her so badly that she didn't know if there was any strength left to stand, but looking in the direction of the ring, Andy had just thrown Chris into the ring rope, and then took him down to the mat again. By now, some of the fans sitting closest to the stage began to notice and point at her. As they did, more and more peoples' attention was starting to be gained in her direction.

"Oh fuck," Kady stared around for a brief second and then knew... it was too late to stop now. Tears stung her eyes and the realization of how much trouble she was in, as well as getting Lily and Chris in, hit her. "Maybe I should've thought about this more..."

The majority of the crowd that had yet to notice her standing on the stage let out a collective gasp at the in-ring action when Chris managed to lay a low blow to Andy while the ref was distracted by the current ring-side fighting between Chase and James. This gave Kady the perfect opportunity she needed and she started into a soft jog which, in seconds, turned into a run down to the ringside. And, as expected, the crowd went into an uproar at this strange kid who came, seemingly, out of nowhere!

She went around the side of the ring, and finally some officials started catching on, while Mike Tenay and Don West were going nuts at the announcer's table, wanting to know who she was while at the same time trying to keep everything under control and on track. Everything started to fade out around her – the noise; the commotion. Kady didn't want to look to see how injured Chris was, and so focused on James who was now beating Chase down to the floor, taking the advantage. His back was to her so he didn't notice. She stopped behind him and hesitated for a second, and then reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. James turned around and almost passed out.

"KADENCE?"

"Hey," she meekly said. "I, um..."

James let go of Chase, who then fell to the floor, and turned to face her completely. Fans were still loud, but it was obvious they were confused. With what happened last time between Andy and Chris, and this new development... James' expression darkened and Kady shrunk back at bit, but then caught herself and stood her ground.

"What the hell are you doing here!" he demanded, angrily, grabbing her arm (her good one) and started to pull her back to the stage area, and she struggled against his grip. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you got yourself in, kid?"

"James, wait!" Kady pleaded, and then managed to jerk her arm free of him and stepped back. James stormed over to her and leaned down to whisper to her, so the camera couldn't pick up what he was saying.

"It's way to dangerous for you to be down here, _and_ you could get us all fired! What were you thinking?"

Kady held up the handcuffs, dangling them from her index finger and stared at him. "Dad needs help!"

James' jaw dropped when he heard what she just said, and she too didn't notice what word just passed through her lips. Dad?

"He knows what he's doing, so does Andy!"

"Please! I just..." Kady started hyperventilating and panicking when she looked up to see that, while Chris had still not noticed she was here, she could see the blood now pouring from a gaping wound in his forehead. "I can't... make it stop, James. I can't deal with seeing him bleed like that, just... please!"

James was stuck in a very sticky situation – he could either do this for Kady, and help her when she looked like she really needed it, given the delicacy of the relationship between her or Chris, or he could send her backstage and continue on. Either way, now they were all gonna be in deep shit with management. Might as well go out with a bang, right? All the crowd was stunned, and Chase was pulling himself up by the guardrail

"You do know what you're asking, right?"

"I know. I'm sorry, okay? But I... I mean, look at him!" she pointed to the ring, and James followed her direction to see Andy having regained the control he momentarily lost. Chris was getting beaten down pretty good. "I don't know why... I just had to do something, I don't want him going to the hospital. Please, James?"

Officials were running to their side now, and Kady suddenly felt a pressure on her bad arm and she screamed in pain. James shoved the official who grabbed her arm away and told the others to back off, that she was with him, and pulled her into a protective embrace, totally out of character of him as a heel. Kady readily accepted the embrace, feeling that he was her only safety out there right now. One of the men screamed at him to let them take her backstage, but James remained firm and kept Kady with him.

"She's with us," he insisted and suggested that they go back and check it themselves. Obviously, what they would find was that this was not in the plans for the match that night, but still they backed off. It would buy them time. Once they had gone back, James turned his attention completely back to Kady, and her eyes held it all. Fear. Anger. Desperation.

"Are you okay?" he asked, softly. She nodded. "Okay. Now you stick by me and don't go anywhere, get it? Wherever I go, you go. Don't leave my side."

"Fine," Kady agreed, and was fully aware that she was not in a good position to challenge him. James had to make sure they could work this in with the show. "James?"

"What?"

"I am sorry..."

"Whatever. Now stick by me. I mean it!"

James then took her hand and pulled her in the direction where he and Chase had been fighting seconds earlier. Chase was now on his feet, but still holding onto the rail for support, but froze completely when he saw James coming back, with Kady at his side!

"What the fuck? What's she doing here?"

"Never mind," James growled and again floored him with another shot to the head, and Chase was back down and at Cowboy's mercy. "Kady, the cuffs!"

She obliged and as he held Chase down, she grabbed his wrist and held it up, slapping one of the cuffs on him and then attaching the other to the guard rail so he wouldn't be able to interfere with what happened in the ring. James turned around and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her a little so she would know he was serious.

"Stay close, but don't get in the ring, get it?"

"Okay."

"I mean it, Kady. You've already gotten us into a hell of a lot of trouble."

"I said_ okay_! Dude, I get it!"

James directed her to sit on one of the ringside steps, which she did, and then got up onto the ring apron, and called out to Andy. He stopped beating on Chris, who was still coherent and not nearly as badly injured as Andy had been a month or so earlier, but he was still in a mess. Andy charged at him to knock him off the ropes, but instead James shouldered him in the stomach, through the ropes and then jumped into the ring. The two went at it, and Kady watched from the sidelines… Chris had enough strength to roll out of the middle of the ring, to let his partner take care of Andy. Kady, not being one to be bound by rules and agreements, took the opportunity and crawled onto the ring apron, and slid underneath the bottom rope and proceeded to scoot over to Chris. He had been knocked around pretty damn good, and barely could his vision focus to get a clear image of the person who now leaned over him

"Chris?"

"Shit… Kady?" he reached up and grabbed her arms at the elbows. Kady sat on her knees and leaned across him. She wasn't sickened by the sight of blood, she could totally withstand it. It was so hard to recognize him through it though, and suddenly everything around her didn't matter. He was hurt. She reached out and touched his forehead; the tips of her fingers momentarily becoming immersed in the blood.

"You're hurt…"

"I'll live. What are you doing here!" Chris was still too dazed and sat up, holding onto the middle rope to do so.

"I…" she stammered. "I got worried… the blood…"

"Baby, I'm a wrestler! I bleed!" he harshly said, still holding her with one arm. "It happens!"

"You said you'd be okay, but you're not!" Kady said, tearfully. It wasn't that she hated what her father did for a living, but after everything that happened, it still hurt when things like this could potentially send him to the hospital and complicate things again. She and her mother already had to have lengthy hospital stays, and she didn't want to see her father going to one either. This was going to take some time to get used to.

"Get your ass backstage, _now_. Your mother is gonna be pissed!"

"Fuck yes I am!" Lily yelled, catching both her daughter and ex by surprise. She had arrived at ringside with several officials, on orders from Jeff Jarrett. "Kadence Myers! I can't fucking trust you for more than fifteen minutes, and you—Chris, what the hell is this?"

Kady held onto Chris. This was not the time or the place for either of them to feel her wrath – not on national television.

"I had no idea, Lil!" Chris defended himself, weakly, and rolled out of the ring. Kady had no chance to move, because as quick as lightning he had slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her out of the ring, between the middle and bottom ropes. He set her down but didn't take his arms away. "Don't go after me for this. I thought you'd be watching her!"

"She's fourteen, she doesn't need watching. I _thought_ she'd be able to handle simple instructions!" Lily said, her eyes glowering in Kady's direction, and then back at Chris. She reached out and pulled Kady away from him and told her to go backstage, and the girl slunk away, leaving her parents as she was escorted up the ramp by two officials, on either side of her. Now Lily was able to give him her full attention. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." He replied, a little curious as to why she'd ask. Lily appeared genuinely worried about him.

"Good. Listen. Jarrett's seen everything; he's beyond pissed. He wants to see all four of you and me in Dixie Carter's office after the show. We'll be lucky if we still have our jobs."

"Shit," he muttered, and then remembered he was still in a match. All the camera were either pointed in their direction or what was happening in the ring. James had taken control of Andy and they were keeping things going as best they could. "We'll figure something out, Lil. Just, um… don't be too harsh on her."

"What!"

"Just trust me, okay? After everything we've been through, I think you could give me a little of that!"

Before Lily got a chance to the respond the entire crowd suddenly broke free of their almost dead silence for what was happening, and slowly a deafening round of screams and cheers arose. Lily looked around at them, in confusion, and Chris frowned and noticed that a lot of the audience members were cheering in the direction of the stage, so he looked over her shoulder and had no time to react. Lily, confused at his expression, was about to ask what was going on when two strong arms wrapped around her waist and she was lifted off the ground and pulled aside.

At that same time, Chris was knocked to the ground as his own tag team partner was thrown over the ropes by Andy. James' head bounced off the guardrail as he landed and he groaned and rolled off Chris, feeling the impact surging through his body. He was all but knocked senseless. Lily looked at them and then down at the arms that were still around her… the soft muscles pressed against her, as if protecting her. The arms were tattooed, and oddly painted… blue, green… she then lifted her head to see the person. Darkened hair, with streaks of multi colors framed a serious face that was masked with not just paint, but concern.

"Who are you?"

"Are you okay?"

"I asked you a question first…"

"Answer mine."

"I'm fine…"

"Good," he replied, seriously. "I'm Jeff Hardy."

Chris looked up, through the blood in his eyes, from the ground and growled sightly. What the hell did Jeff Hardy think he was doing? How dare he put his hands on Lily! Chris slowly got to his feet and moved over to where the pair were standing. He gently took Lily's hand in his own and pulled her away from Jeff.

"What the fuck are you doing? Get the hell away from her!" He yelled at Jeff menacingly. Jeff held up his hands and backed off, showing he wasn't there to fight. He took one last look at Lily before turning and walking away. Lily turned on Chris, pulling her hand out of his.

"He just saved me from being impaled by James! God, you really are a jackass sometimes!" She told him.

Andy took advantage of Chris' distracted state and got out of the ring next to James. He lifted the nearly comatose cowboy to his feet and rolled him into the ring before climbing back in himself. He covered him, hooking one leg, and counted along as the ref called for the 1-2-3. The bell was rung and the announcer's voice rang out.

"The winners, and still NWA Tag Team Champions, Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens – The Naturals!"

Chris spun quickly to face the ring and held his hands to his head. He couldn't believe that it was over... that he and James had lost their shot at the titles all because of Kady and Lily's interference. Andy grabbed the title belts from the ref and rolled from the ring, handing one to Chase who was still cuffed to the guardrail.

"Hey, Wildcat... got the keys to these things?" Chase called out. Chris glared at him,

"No." He stated before helping James out of the ring and supporting him on their way up the ramp and through the tunnel.

While all this was taking place, Jeff Hardy had made his way through to the backstage area. He was a little shocked by Chris' reaction to him helping the chick out but figured it was because she was his girlfriend... fiancé... wife – whatever. He was pretty sure that the girl he'd seen earlier was connected to the two of them somehow but couldn't be bothered trying to work it out. That was, until he saw her again. She was standing off to one side of the tunnel he'd just walked through, security keeping a close eye on her. She looked to be in a state of extreme nervousness and concern.

"Hey, you okay?" Jeff asked as he walked over to her.

"I... I guess so. I saw you help my mother. Thanks." Kady offered with a weak smile.

"Don't mention it. Didn't take a genius to see that something bad was going to happen." Jeff replied. Kady nodded.

"Why were you out there anyway?" She wondered. Jeff smiled.

"I saw you sneak through the supply room. I tend to hide out in there when I need some space. Figured you were up to something so I followed you out and kept and eye on things. You sure gave security a run for their money on the way up the ramp." He chuckled, remembering her pulling herself out of one of the security people's grip.

"I don't like being touched by idiots." Kady shrugged. Jeff laughed. He was about to ask the girl what her name was and how she was connected with everything when Chris Harris' voice broke into their conversation.

"Kady, baby, you okay?"

Kady and Jeff turned to see Chris supporting James who was holding a hand to his head. Kady nodded.

"I'm a lot better than the two of you look." She pointed out. Jeff grabbed a towel from a crew member and handed it to Chris who accepted it gratefully.

"Thanks, Jeff. Sorry about snapping at you out there... I just didn't realize what you were doing." He told Jeff apologetically as he used the towel to wipe the blood from his eyes.

"No harm done... at least, not to me." Jeff figured. Chris nodded and looked at his tag team partner seriously.

"Guess I should get this guy checked out. Kady, stay put until your mom gets back here. You're in a world of trouble already." He warned. Kady winced, knowing he was right, before nodding.

"You need to get that cut looked at, too. It's pretty nasty." She told him. Chris nodded and began walking away.

"Oh, one more thing. Have you got the keys for the cuffs?" He wondered, turning back to look at her over his shoulder.

"Yeah, in my pocket. Why?" Kady queried.

"Pretend you lost them, alright?" He winked. Kady laughed as Chris and James walked away. Jeff thought that now he'd get a chance to piece things together with the girl he now knew to be Kady.

"I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Jeff Hardy." He told her.

"Kady Myers." She replied, figuring it was only fair. Jeff was about to say something else when he was once again interrupted. This time, by the woman he'd helped at ringside.

"Kadence, do you have the keys for the handcuffs?" Lily asked, glaring at her child darkly.

Kady patted her pockets a few times before looking up again. Jeff caught her eye and shook his head, relaying the thought that it probably wasn't a good idea to piss this woman off anymore than she already was. Kady took the hint and shoved her hand into her pocket, retrieving the keys and handing them to her mother. Lily turned away and headed back through the tunnel without another word and Jeff watched Kady shudder slightly.

"She's pretty angry." He noted. Kady half laughed.

"No kidding. I'm in so much trouble." She knew.

"Listening to Chris just then wouldn't have helped things." Jeff pointed out.

"I know." She nodded.

A little while later Andy, Chase, James, Chris and Lily filed into Dixie's office. Jerry Jarrett, Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter were all present. Lily had hesitantly asked Jeff Hardy if he'd keep an eye on Kady until they were done and he'd agreed without a second thought. This didn't keep Lily from worrying that the girl would get herself into trouble but she hoped that Jeff was responsible enough to reign the teenager in. It was only going to be for a little while, after all.

Dixie motioned for the group to sit down. Lily carefully positioned herself between the tag teams, hoping that it would stop them from arguing between themselves. The last thing anyone needed right now was for a brawl to break out. Jerry Jarrett was sitting on a corner of Dixie's desk, which she was positioned behind. Jeff Jarrett was leaning against the wall, off to one side. The five people who had come before them knew, by the looks on their faces, that they were not happy. Dixie took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, before addressing them.

"I absolutely cannot believe what happened out there. Once again, an AMW vs The Naturals match almost ruins the entire show. It's like watching a rerun of a bad movie, it really is!" She fumed before taking another breath. Chris took the moment of silence to speak up.

"None of us meant for it to happen." He assured her. Dixie glared at him and Chris sunk into his seat slightly.

"Be that as it may, it did happen. Things got out of control... for a second time! That's what's so unbelievable. We thought that, after what happened last time, the four of you would be able to conduct yourselves in a more professional manner this time. Clearly, we were wrong. Not only did you put each other at risk out there but you also put a child at risk! James, what would've happened if Chase had snapped and accidentally hit Kadence?" Dixie challenged, turning her glare on James.

"Uh... I don't know. I guess I didn't really stop to think about it. I figured she'd be safe as long as I was watching her." James admitted.

"Idiot." Jeff Jarrett muttered. James made a move that looked like he was going to get out of his chair in order to get into Jeff's face but Chris reached out a hand and shoved him back into his seat.

"This brings me to another point. What the hell was Kadence thinking, going out there in the first place? Surely she'd be smart enough to know that what was happening out there was staged? Why the hell would she interfere?" Dixie wondered. Lily opened her mouth to say something to defend her daughter, but James beat her to it.

"She was worried about Chris. Andy was going a little overboard with him in the ring and she was scared he'd end up in hospital." He informed his boss seriously, sparing a moment to swap his glare between Jeff and Andy.

"Hey, Chris knew I was going to be repaying the favor! He should've told Kady not to worry about it. I wouldn't have gone as far as to put him in the hospital." Andy defended.

"Well you weren't exactly going easy on me with those punches. You totally strayed from the outline we'd set down." Chris pointed out.

"Not like you've never done that before." Chase muttered, defending his tag partner.

"Shut the hell up, Stevens!" James yelled, jumping to Chris' defense as well. Lily sat in the middle and put her head in her hands. It was like a mini world war was breaking out. Finally, they were all silenced.

"Shut up, all of you!" Jerry ordered. The wrestlers lowered their heads, having good enough sense to know not to argue with him.

"Now, it seems to me that none of you are responsible enough to continue working for this company. You've all screwed up tonight, in one way or another, and put our show in jeopardy. You've made us all look bad and, I, for one, don't like to look bad! All of you may not care about it but we do. We have to." Jerry told them seriously. Silence descended on the room for a moment before Lily said something.

"I can't speak for the guys but... I totally understand where you're coming from. I can appreciate the fact that Kady going out there and interfering was not only stupid, on her part, but extremely dangerous. I should know by now not to take my eyes off her for a second. I apologize for that and am completely willing to offer my resignation right now." She stated calmly, though she felt like bursting into tears right then and there.

"That won't be needed, Lily." Jeff spoke up, pushing himself off the wall and moving to stand at the opposite end of the desk to his father.

"We just need your word that Kady won't do anything like this again." He continued.

"I... I wish I could promise that but... I can't make a promise I can't keep. Kady needs to make it." Lily stammered, knowing she couldn't control Kadence if she put her mind to doing something.

"I'm sure she's learned her lesson. You can't be too hard on her, she's just a kid." Chris reasoned, worried that Kady being forced to promise anything to these people might make her revert back to being the angry person she'd been when he'd first met her.

"Oh, come on, Chris! You seriously think she's learned her lesson? She keeps making the same stupid mistakes over and over again and if we ignore that and don't crack down on her for it, she's just going to keep going down that path. I'm sick of it!" Lily blurted, her anger at what Kady had done returning. Chris was shocked by her outburst but before he could say anything in reply, Jerry spoke up again.

"As it stands, all of you are suspended until further notice. We won't stand for anything like this happening again. Unfortunately, that means that you two will be losing the titles. Zybysko will strip you of them next week." Jerry explained.

"Hey, now... wait a second! I didn't do anything wrong. I don't see why I should be punished." Chase defended himself.

"He's right. Look, suspend me for as long as you want, I'm fine with that, but... everyone else is innocent in this – other than Kady. And I guess James, for letting her stay out there. I don't see why Chase or Andy should be punished for my kid's mistake." Chris pointed out.

"Chase is probably the most innocent one of all of you. He had no control over what happened out there. Andy, the reason for your suspension is that you went too far in the ring, putting Chris in danger. I thought we'd covered this after what he did to you." Jerry mused.

"We did. I..." Andy tried to defend himself.

"I told him to pay me back. It was only fair. He didn't go too far, at all. I stand by the fact that they shouldn't be suspended or lose the titles. I'll walk out of here now and never come back if that's what it would take for Andy and Chase to keep them." Chris vowed.

"Nonsense, Chris. You walking out won't help matters at all." Dixie told him before sighing, her anger now wearing down.

"Look, management will discuss punishments for each of you, based on how much trouble you've caused. Chase, I believe a 3 week suspension will be enough for you. The rest of you, you're suspended until we decide what else to do with you. Now get the hell out of my office before I snap and fire you all." Dixie threatened. The group in front of her got to their feet and filed out of the room quietly, probably all pondering what they'd been told.

"Well, this is fantastic." Chase muttered, following behind Andy.

"Sorry, man. Didn't mean for you to get into trouble." Andy apologized.

"You're probably the only one here I don't blame." Chase told him in a loud whisper. Not quiet enough to go undetected and he was soon clutching the back of his head after James hit him.

"If you've got something to say, Stevens, say it." James dared him.

"Fine. The stunt that kid pulled out there tonight was beyond stupid! She never should've been able to get anywhere near the stage, let alone the ring. The fact that she did, and that she cuffed me to the fucking guardrail pisses me off! But, I can't blame her for it. She's a kid, someone else should be responsible for her. Someone should've been watching her!" Chase fumed, venting his frustrations. Chris took this chance to imitate his partner's earlier action and hit Chase upside the head.

"Stop throwing blame around. We know we fucked up, okay?" He assured the younger man.

"We'll deal with Kady, I promise you that." Lily vowed as she spotted her daughter and Jeff Hardy standing just down the hall. As Andy, Chase and James walked past them, Kady heard comments that chilled her completely.

"Troublemaker." Chase muttered.

"Thanks a lot, kid. You almost got us fired." James told her.

"Your folks are pretty angry." Andy warned. That was the comment that hit her the most.

"Mom, I'm so.." Kady started, only to be cut off by a glare from her mother.

"Don't you dare say another word. Jeff, thank you for watching her. Kady, my office, NOW!" Lily ordered, managing a weak smile in Jeff's direction before she and Chris led the way towards her office. Kady looked up at Jeff, fear written all over her face.

"Shit. This is bad... really, really bad." She told him. Jeff nodded, knowing there was no way he could disagree.

"Time to face the music. The longer you stall, the worse it'll be." He told her. Kady looked around the hallway for a moment.

"Think you could look the other way for a second? If I can get to an exit, I'll be okay." She joked, though he could tell she was half serious.

Jeff shook his head and pointed in the direction Lily and Chris had gone. Kady nodded and followed after her parents, her head hung in shame. When she reached the office, Chris was holding the door open for her. She stepped inside and he followed, almost slamming the door as he closed it behind himself. Lily was pacing the room, a hand rubbing at her left temple. Kady stood watching her for a moment before once again trying to speak up.

* * *

**A/N:** Ahh! Cliffhanger! I really am evil, aren't I? Considering I separated the story into chapters… direct all your frustration at me, Phoenix is the innocent one for once. But never fear! Another chapter is near! 


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** Yay, another chapter! This one flows on from the cliffhanger that Lizzie left you all with at the end of last chapter. Kady's in trouble in a big way. And, Lizzie... if I'm a goose, can I at least be the kind that lays golden eggs? Think of the profit! Ahem... I mean... um... just read the darn chapter! Thanks. **_Phoenix_**

**_

* * *

_**

"Mom, I know I..." She started.

"Don't. Don't say that you know you messed up because, you know what, you're not the only one that knows it. The whole fucking country knows it, Kady! What you did was so incredibly wrong! I don't even know what the hell you were thinking. Then again, I can never work you out. Do you enjoy making my life a living hell? I thought we were past this shit, I really did!" Lily yelled at her daughter, having had enough of it all.

"Mom, please... I didn't mean to get anyone into trouble..." Kady replied quietly.

"Trouble? Kady, we are way past trouble. Do you realize what you've done? Chris, James, Andy, Chase and I have all been suspended. Andy and Chase may still lose their titles. We've been back here a month and already you've fucked this up for me. You knew we needed this and you, yet again, fucked it all up. I've had enough... I don't know what else to say. I just... I give up." Lily told her, throwing her hands up in defeat. Chris moved over to her and put a hand on her arm gently.

"It's going to be okay, Lil. Suspension isn't so bad. I've been pondering taking time off anyway. I... I've found a place in Florida, just needed a chance to move here. Now I've got it." He smiled, hoping to diffuse the situation slightly.

"Ha! Good for you. Meanwhile, what the fuck am I supposed to do? I need my job. You have no idea how much it costs to raise a teenager." Lily continued to fume.

"Don't worry about it. If you need money, just say so. I mean, I kind of owe you thirteen odd years worth of child support anyway." Chris smirked. Lily glared at him.

"You know what... I have a better idea. You think it's so easy dealing with her, go ahead. She's all yours. I meant it – I've had enough. It's my turn to walk out." Lily told them both, picking up her handbag before walking over to the door and exiting the room. Kady watched her go, tears springing to her eyes. She had been too young to stop Chris leaving when he did but nothing was stopping her now, she realized.

"Mom! Wait!" She called after Lily, moving towards the door. Chris caught her in his arms and pulled her back towards the desk.

"Let her go, baby. She needs time to cool down." He told her, hugging her to himself tightly for a moment. Kady protested, trying to fight her way out of his arms.

"She can't leave me! She can't fucking leave!" She screamed, beating her hands against his chest.

Chris let her go and positioned himself between her and the door in order to stop her going after Lily. He looked down at her and saw the fear, the rejection and the pain shining in her green eyes. He couldn't help but get a little choked up. For the second time in her life, she was being abandoned by someone that supposedly loved her more than anything. He couldn't even begin to understand how that must feel for her. And to be left with him, someone she still wasn't all too familiar with, just made things seem a lot worse.

"It'll be okay, I promise. She'll calm down in a few days... we just gotta wait it out." He assured her.

"Fuck waiting it out! Let me out of here!" Kady demanded. Chris shook his head.

"It won't help anything. If you go after her, things will just get ugly. Neither of you need to drag this stuff out in public... no more than what you did by coming out to the ring earlier." Chris told her, getting a little more serious.

"What? You... you were in trouble. I was just trying to help! I can't believe you'd be mad at me for it..." Kady sobbed. Chris pulled her into his arms again, kissing the top of her head.

"I know you did it for the right reasons, baby, but... the fact remains, it was dangerous. James never should've let you stay out there." Chris mused, resting his chin on top of Kady's head now.

"I shouldn't have been out there to start with. It isn't James' fault. I just didn't want you to wind up in hospital. I... I need you." Kady admitted. Chris' heart leapt up into his throat. His little girl finally admitted she wanted him around. That had to be one of the best feelings in the world! But, still, it was coming from a bad situation.

"You need Lily, too. Let's go." He decided, taking one of her hands in his and leading her out of the office. He was determined to hold things together, for Kady's sake.

After leaving the office, Lily had made her way towards the nearest exit. She just wanted to get out of there, find some peace and quiet and reflect on everything that had happened. She wasn't aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks or the looks she was getting from anyone that saw her. At least, not until someone stepped in front of her and put their hands on her shoulders. She looked up into the concerned face of Jeff Hardy.

"You okay?" He asked her hesitantly.

"Peachy fucking keen." She told him, trying to push past him.

"Wait, wait. What's going on?" Jeff pressed, stopping her again.

"I'm leaving, that's what's going on. I'm done. I'm out."

"Leaving? What about Kady?" Jeff asked, confused by the situation.

"That's what I meant when I said I was done." Lily reiterated, getting past Jeff finally. He stood, trying to work through the small amount of information he'd gotten from Lily. It wasn't long before he spotted Chris and Kady heading towards him.

"Jeff, seen Lily?" Chris asked him when they reached him.

"That way. She's pretty upset." Jeff replied, pointing towards the exit.

"No kidding. Thanks, man." Chris farewelled before leading Kady out the exit.

Lily hadn't gotten very far but Chris let go of Kady's hand and jogged to catch up with her, turning her back towards their daughter with a hand on one of her shoulders. She shrugged his hand off and tried to turn back the way she'd been walking.

"Mom, wait... please?" Kady pleaded as she caught up to her parents. Lily stopped and Chris watched her shoulders slump. It was like she was defeated. He knew that feeling all too well.

"Kady, keep quiet for a second, okay?" He told her as he put an arm around her and pulled her close to him. She nodded and gripped the back of his shirt tightly.

"Lil, after everything that we've been through since Kady was born, you're just going to walk away now? After giving me shit for wanting to pursue a career, you're doing the same thing. Are you really willing to just give up on all the progress we've made lately?" Chris challenged. Lily looked up, the glare in her eyes scaring Kady slightly.

"Fuck you, Chris! What fucking progress? She's still just as infuriating as she ever was, still just as careless. This stunt was the last straw for me. She doesn't give a shit about anyone other than herself, you know that!"

"She's a kid! She's meant to make mistakes so she can learn from them! Persecuting her for it isn't going to help matters." Chris pointed out.

"And you're the expert on raising kids, right? You know it all, you've done it all. Oh, wait, no... that was me." Lily replied, heavy sarcasm evident in her voice.

"Yeah, it was you. Because that's the way you fucking wanted it! Things are different now, though. Kady needs both of us, you know that."

"After thirteen years of dealing with me, I'm sure she wouldn't mind seeing the back of me, would you, brat?" Lily turned on Kady.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it! Why do I have to choose between you? Why can't I have you both for a change? I need you both!" Kady assured her mother. Lily took a deep breath, letting Kady's words sink in.

"It's not that easy, Kadence. I wish it could be but... you're making it a whole lot harder. You've got to think, girl. You can't go through life pulling pranks and brushing off the consequences. It's going to catch up with you eventually, just like it has now. I've had enough of cleaning up your messes, of having my life turned to crap because you want to have a little fun. I'd like to have some fun, for a change. And I was, here, until you decided to mess it up for me. I guess I should've seen it coming though. You've gotten predictable, Kady."

"And you haven't? You've been running from your problems for as long as I've known you – since high school, Lily. And, look at you! You're doing it again. It's about time both of you face up to things and deal with them instead of running away. I'm not going to let either of you run this time." Chris vowed.

"What are you going to do, lock us in a room together?" Lily queried. Chris looked down at Kady and then back to his ex.

"If I have to, yeah. This is getting completely ridiculous. I was sure there was only one teenager here that I had to deal with but it seems nothing's changed with you, Lily. You're still as self-centered as you always were. Typical cheerleader." Chris scoffed.

Lily reared back her hand and slapped Chris as hard as she could. How dare he! She had never been the typically self-centered cheerleader, not like the other girls she'd been on the squad with. Before Chris could react, Kady had returned the favor for him, slapping her mother with all her might - thirteen years of anger flowing through her hand onto her mother's cheek. Lily was stunned. Her own child had slapped her – in defense of a father she barely knew. It just didn't make sense to her. She turned on her heels and walked away. Chris laughed.

"See, there you go again, running away. You're pathetic, Lily! Kady would be better off without your influence." He called after her, trying to bait her into stopping. It worked.

"Fuck you, Chris! You think your influence would make her a better person? You're a big fucking joke! Look at you, Wildcat! Ha!" Lily retorted, getting into Chris' face and shoving him slightly. Kady couldn't stand it anymore and she got between them, shoving her mother away sharply.

"Don't touch him! Don't you dare fucking touch my dad!" Kady screamed, launching herself at Lily with her fists swinging. Chris caught her around her waist and pulled her back, grabbing her arms and pinning them to her chest.

"It's okay, baby. It's alright." He tried to soothe her. Lily once again turned to walk away.

"No! You can't! You can't leave! Don't leave me!" Kady pleaded, sobbing and trying to get out of Chris' hold.

But Lily didn't stop. She kept walking, though each step she took she felt like her legs were turning into jelly... suddenly she knew what it must've felt like for Chris, to have to walk away from Kady. It was more painful than she anticipated, and she hated herself for it, but in her mind it was Kady who brought this all on herself. Lily was beyond stunned when her daughter referred to Chris as 'dad', only moments after slapping her.

Kady screamed after her mother, hysterically crying, and even Chris felt a lump developing in his throat. Lily was doing what he had done thirteen years ago, and just like she was feeling what it was life for him, Chris was now experiencing what Lily must've went through when he walked away. It was when Lily turned the corner and out of sight that Kady gave up and collapsed back into his arms, sobbing loudly.

"Mom's gone... she hates me..."

"No," Chris told her, kissing the back of her head. "No, sweetheart. She doesn't hate you. She could never hate you."

She gripped his arms to keep herself standing, and Kady turned around so that she was now facing him.

"I didn't know I was such a bad person..." she whispered.

"Hey, hey... don't you dare do that to yourself, Kadence. Don't."

"But I messed everything up! I messed mom's life, I messed your life, I messed my life. I messed up your friends' lives. I almost screwed this whole fucking company!" Kady rested her head on his chest and cried into his shirt.

"You did not mess my life up, Kady," Chris placed his index finger delicately under her chin and raised her head up just enough so it would force her to make eye contact with him. Her big green eyes were so pained, it was hard for him to keep looking into them knowing that there was not much he could do to take that pain away.

"Baby, if anything, know this. You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me, you hear? Out of everything in my life... no matter what, nothing will change you being my greatest achievement."

"What about mom?" she whispered, her vulnerable tone so clear to hear that it was almost chilling. "I... I need her. She doesn't—"

"No. Your mother loves you, Kadence. No matter what, that will never change," Chris stared in her eyes and softly brushed strands of hair from her face, tucking them behind her ear. "And I love you."

"Am I supposed to keep hurting like this? Is it supposed to be this hard?" Kady asked, whispering.

"I don't know. I can't answer that," he replied, honestly. "But we're not gonna let it keep going, okay? I promise we'll work this out with Lily. But for now, Kady, you just gotta keep strong, okay? You'll stay with me, let things calm down... everyone's tired. I'm exhausted and I'm sure you are."

She nodded and held her father closer. Chris returned the hug and did the best thing a dad could do for his child, and that was to simply hold her. There was a sense of comfort; of safety that came from their hugs that Kady never experienced before. She could definitely use more of these over the coming few days.

"I have to go find her..." Kady exclaimed and tried to break free of his monster strength embrace, but he wouldn't let her go. "Dad, please! I have to get her!"

Chris tightened his grip on her. "Kady, Kady, stop this shit! Just stop!"

She did.

"Let's just get back to the hotel, okay? You need to sleep, honey..."

"But I—"

"No, this is something I'm insisting on," he stood firm and dragged her in the direction opposite to which Lily had gone in. "We'll get our stuff and head back to the hotel. You can trash the room, order as much room service as you want or do whatever... let's go."

Kady relented and allowed her dad to lead her away. All her energy was drained and there was no power left in mind or body to fight him, which only served to make Chris' life at this moment a little easier.

Ten minutes later, they were on their way back to the hotel. Chris was devastated as he heard from the passenger's seat of the car, the cries and torment of a little girl who just had her heart broken for what was like the millionth time. He silently vowed that, for as long as she was with him, Kadence would not have her heart broken like this again. He and Lily would work this out once and for all.

Meanwhile, two and a half hours later across town, Lily stepped out of her house and closed the front door behind her, locking it and slipping the key into her purse. She closed her eyes and breathed in the night's air – fresh and crisp. Though it was getting close to midnight, the night was young and she was ready to break free of the constraints of her life and experience what she never got to since she spent from the last of her teenage years up until now raising her child. She was going to go out, have some fun (whatever that may be) and be free for once in over fourteen years and not have the responsibilities she had been burdened with. A small smile played across her lips and she stepped out into the nights air, slinging her handbag over her shoulder.

She wore a plain short silky black skirt, with a deep red halter top and black six-inch heels that her sister had given her for her birthday. Lily always thought they weren't her style, but kept them in her closet anyway. On top of it all, she had pulled on a knee-length leather coat that she had hidden in the back of her closet for ten years. Now was the perfect time for her to break out of the mother role so the shoes; the outfit... it was all appropriate now. Her shoulder-length blond hair was pulled into a tight bun with a few strands allowed to stray loose, framing her face. Just wearing the outfit was enough to make Lily feel like she was liberated and back in her early twenties when she last felt the strong desires to go out and let loose. After that time, as Kady got older, those desires were replaced with ones to be a great mother and raise a beautiful, loving daughter. So much for dreams, right?

Lily walked over to her car and opened the door, and slipped behind the wheel, dumping her handbag on the seat next to her. She turned the light on and took out her compact, opening it and inspecting her makeup and hair one last time before heading to a nightclub she knew to be one of the hottest new clubs in Orlando.

"Goodbye, Lily Myers," she whispered, determined to let go of her old self and embrace the freedom she never had after her 21st birthday. She then inserted the key into the ignition, and two seconds later she was pulling out of the driveway, and on her way.

Twenty minutes later, Lily pulled into a parking lot that was situated across the street from the club, which had opened up no more than half an hour earlier and already there was a very long line. She groaned and turned the ignition off, and opened the door, stepping out of the car and pulled out her handbag with her. Lily slammed the door shut and locked everything up, before turning around to get a good look at the exterior of the place. It looked good. Respectable. Probably expensive. Whatever. Tonight would be about indulgence.

Lily took a deep breath, breathing in confidence as well as the cool air, and started walking. She had gone out with her friends, occasionally, during the years, but never to nightclubs or any place where she could possibly be left out of contact with her child – she was overprotective of Kady at times. So it was not like she had much experience, but that didn't matter to her. As she walked, she then felt something harshly bump her, almost sending her crashing to the ground. A man had accidentally bumped into her while carrying a box full of what looked like papers or whatever, in which half the contents spilled onto the ground.

"Hey!" she yelped, regaining her composure. "Watch it!"

"Fuck!" the man cried, frustrated. "I'm so sorry, lady..."

Lily finished checking to make sure she was still okay, and looked down at the man. He looked to be around her age, wearing a dark button-down shirt, and black pants, and very presentable. Now, he was kneeling on the ground, groaning and hurrying to fix the mess he had made. He raised his head to look at her.

"I'm so sorry," he repeated. "I didn't see where I was going, man, I'm... fuck! I'm sorry."

Feeling satisfied that this guy didn't do it on purpose, Lily relaxed a bit and knelt down as best she could in what she was wearing, to help him.

"Forget it," she replied, and picked up a few of the papers. "It's not like I was the most attentive one of us either."

"Well I guess we both screwed up," he lightly joked. Lily chuckled and handed him the pile of papers she collected before starting to pick up some more. "Thanks."

"No problem. It's the least I could do."

"Yeah, well you really don't have to. I got it."

"No, no. It's okay," she insisted with a friendly smile. This encounter actually eased her nerves a bit about going into the club, for some reason. It took a few minutes, but they finally collected the remaining pages that had fallen out of the box and the man stood up, and offered Lily a hand which she readily accept. Once she was fully standing again, she adjusted herself so that she was back to looking as stunning as she had intended, and the man picked up the box again before turning to get a good look at her.

"I'm Mason," he offered out a hand in a gesture of greeting, and simultaneously one of apology. "Mason Timmons."

"Lily Myers," Lily returned, and shook his hand. "You okay?"

Mason shrugged and nodded, casually. "Yeah, I'm good. You? I knocked you pretty good there..."

"Trust me, I've suffered worse," she replied honestly, with a touch of sadness at remembering the powerful slap Kady had delivered to her hours ago, and couldn't help but wonder how she and Chris were holding up. "But that's life."

"Indeed. That's pretty much how it happens in the boardroom," he agreed, thoughtfully. "So where are you headed on this cool Saturday night?"

"Over there," she jerked her thumb in the direction of the club. "I heard its a hot place. Not looking forward to standing in line though."

"I think I can help you there," Mason said, winking playfully which brought a smile to her face. Lily only just noticed that he too had been going in the same direction she had been, and so assumed that he was heading there too. "As a thank you for your help back there, how about I skip you to the front of the line and shout you a drink?"

Lily shook her head, indicating her confusion, and Mason elaborated...

"I own the place."

She stopped, shocked at the idea that she had in fact run into the owner of this hot club, and he was offering her a free drink? He laughed weakly at her reaction to the news.

"Yeah... you're not the first woman to react that way."

Lily shook herself back to reality. "I'm sorry, it's just... wow. I've read about this place, and it's been labeled as the best spot in Florida. I'm kinda blown away by standing next to the dude who owns it."

"Again, not an uncommon reaction."

"Sorry..."

"Don't be," Mason shrugged. "To be honest, I'm such a cyber nerd it's like I don't have any social skills at all. So this is a good way to meet women," he winked at her.

Lily laughed and blushed as they stepped up onto the sidewalk, and Mason gestured for her to follow him past the line and over to the front door. He stopped next the bouncers, and said hello to each of them, asking how they were. It impressed Lily to see how an employer enjoyed interacting with his employees, hanging with them on their level. Mason certainly didn't appear to be a corporate money-hungry machine.

"She's with me," she overhead him telling a bouncer her identified as Mike, who looked at her and nodded.

"No problem, boss."

Mason turned back to her and grinned. "Sorry, I do have to ask for your I.D., little lady."

Lily raised an eyebrow, but she smiled and played into the joke, and reached into her purse. She fumbled around for about five seconds, before feeling her wallet at the bottom of the bag and removed it, opening it and taking out her driver's license. Mason took it from her and inspected it, and then took another step closer to her.

"This I.D. has gotta be fake..." he told her, keeping his voice low. Lily could see the mischievous gleam in his eyes but still didn't understand. "You do not look thirty-two!"

Lily burst out laughing and grabbed her license back, shoving it into her wallet and returning it to the bottom of her handbag. "Dude!"

"I mean it, young lady—oh wait. You're serious? Sweetie I had you down to twenty, at most."

She gave him a stern look, and he sighed and shrugged, caught out. "Okay, twenty-five. But still... damn."

"You're charming enough to get away with that," was her reply and she walked past him, now oozing with confidence.

"See? The things you learn off the wonderful world of the Internet!" Mason teased, walking in after her.

They entered the club, side-by-side – the main entrance led onto a large balcony-type structure that overlooked the entire, huge club. It was massive! In the center of the place was a large dance floor, with many people already jam-packed onto it, dancing to crazy remixes. And on both the left and right sides of the dance floor were two bars. At the opposite end from where the main club entrance was, was another balcony area, in which underneath it hung curtains over an entrance. Lily could only assume that led to the VIP area or whatever, as it was cornered off by velvet rope, with two more bouncers staged at its entrance.

"Shit..." she muttered in disbelief at how beautiful and fancy this place was. No wonder this club was named one of the top ten in the country.

"You like?"

"I like? Mason, this place is... wow..."

"Most of those types of reactions come from you out-of-staters," Mason nodded, pleased with her approval. This woman was fun to hang with, he could tell that within only less than ten minutes of knowing her.

"How did you know I was from out of state?"

"Because I'm sure I would've seen you here at opening night if you weren't," he confidently explained.

"Okay, now you're just getting cocky!"

"Comes with the territory."

Mason led Lily around the balcony floor and over to one of the two staircases that were situated on either side of the main club area. They were grand staircases, that gave the place a majestic aura.

"How long did it take to set this place up?" she yelled over the music.

"About seven years!" he replied, and again offered her his hand to help her through the growing crowd. Lily accepted.

"Huh!"

"Seven years!" Mason pulled her through the crowd and they kept moving until they reached the VIP area. "Wow... that was a fight."

"No kidding," Lily agreed. "So um... thanks for getting me in."

"What?" he turned around, and moved closer to her again to hear her properly, confused. "You're not gonna join me... and the very beautiful people upstairs?"

Lily stared at him. Did he just invite her into the VIP room?

"You... you're inviting me up?"

"Sure. It's not very often you get to meet genuinely good people in this day and age, especially around here. And I owe you that drink, remember?"

She couldn't believe how amazingly nice this guy was being to her, after the absolutely horrible day she's had and the probability of losing her beautiful Kady forever, this was the last thing she expected to happen. But she was glad it was happening, at least.

"You know what? That's really sweet of you, but um... if it's okay with you I'd like to hang by myself for a while. I've had a bad day, and I just—"

"Hey, it's no problem," Mason waved to silence her, still with a smile on his face. "I understand. Trust me, I have plenty of bad days, I know what it's like to wanna just be loner for a while. Listen, I'm gonna leave your name with Jonny, here," he gestured to one of the large men guarding the VIP entrance. "If you feel like you wanna join us, just drop on by!"

After thanking Mason for his help and appreciating his kind gestures, the two parted ways and he disappeared behind the curtain and up the stairs on his way to his office to do more paperwork. Lily looked around at the club that was about half-way filled to capacity and spotted an empty table in the corner of the lounge area. She walked over there, still managing to look around and absorb the beauty and fanciness of this place, and sat down. Luckily her table was in the corner, which allowed her a greater view of everything that was happening. About ten minutes later, a waitress approached her.

"Excuse me," she said, politely. "Can I get you anything?"

"Um sure. Just a Jack Daniels, thanks," Lily placed her order, which the young waitress took down, smiled, and left.

An hour passed, as well as three straight glasses of bourbon, and needless to say Lily was getting loosened up. The depression of that day was wearing off and the alcoholic-induced feelings of lightness and happiness were loosening her grip on her inhibitions. The intense lighting and the pounding of the music was also helping. It wasn't often that she got a chance to drink but now she honestly did not give a damn what happened and was willing to let it all go. The same waitress returned with a tray and removed two empty glasses from the table.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, miss? Another drink?"

"Yeah, keep 'em coming," Lily grinned, motioning for more drinks. With a moments hesitation and an uncertain smile, the waitress returned to the bar to fulfill the order. Lily watched her all the while and scowled at the brief attitude she was certain that waitress had given her. "Ugh! Kids."

"You sound like you got a lot on your mind," came an unfamiliar voice, and Lily turned to see a man she didn't recognize stop at her table. Tall. Dark-haired. Gorgeous wide eyes, though she couldn't see what color they were. Very charming smile. And a melting southern accent. Lily sat back, intrigued. she would normally be creeped out and obviously would going along the more conservative lines and would bail out. But now, the thought of an anonymous rendezvous was extremely tempting to work through the grief and pain for what happened. "Beautiful women such as yourself shouldn't be sitting along on a Saturday night."

"Yeah, well after the fucked up night I've had, man I don't give a shit anymore," Lily smirked.

"So it seems. May I join you?"

"Can I stop you?"

"Do you want to stop me?"

Her smirk turned into a confident smile and she casually gestured to the seat next to her. "By all means. Company would be good."

The man slid into the seat next to her and clasped his hands on the table, and looked at her intently, though appeared charismatic and confident. Lily matched his visible display of confidence by relaxing against the back of her chair and crossing her legs.

"So do you have a name, stranger?" she asked, just as the waitress returned with her drink. They waited until she had left again before he answered.

"Ian," he supplied her with the answer, but Lily was smart. The probability that the name was fake, was high. "And what about you, beautiful?"

Lily paused. "Jillian."

"Uh huh... now you wanna tell me the truth?"

"Jillian is all you're gonna get, honey," she teased.

"Okay, I can live with that," Ian accepted and sipped his beer. "So from the looks of things, you don't seem to be enjoying yourself. Sitting here all alone, pounding back one drink after another."

"Ah, so you've been watching me. I should call security," Lily flirted, and found herself enjoying the game. It had been a long time. After her relationship with Chris ended, she rarely dated and so she feared her skills were rusty.

"So should I. You should be considered a health hazard, I almost fainted when I saw you... so beautiful," Ian winked, and knew he was succeeding with her when she blushed. Lily silently cursed herself for showing weakness and straightened her posture, determined to keep in control.

"So smooth. How many girls have you tried that line on tonight?"

"Only you."

"I feel special."

"So do I... so you wanna share whats on your mind? It might be good to share it."

"Just, ya know... personal issues."

"Ah," Ian caught on, nodding. "Boyfriend?"

"He wishes. But yeah, I guess you could say... relationship issues." It wasn't a lie. Lily was having just as many problems with Chris she was with her daughter, but knew from experience that if she was to get anything from a guy that night, she would omit the part of having a daughter.

"He's pushing for a relationship, and you're not interested?"

"No. It's more complicated than that," Lily confessed, careful in her choice of words. "He and I... have a history. It's just hard to get over right now. I'm here to forget about it all."

"Doesn't look like you need too much help in that area," Ian commented, noting the pace at which she finished off her drink. Lily waited for the intense burning sensation of the bourbon to subside before responding.

"Oh fuck you," Lily spat and finished off the drink. "This is my first night out in ages, so I'm intending on enjoying it."

"Hey, fair enough."

"Trust me, I ain't done," she insisted and waved over the waitress. Seconds later, the young woman appeared at her side.

"Yes, miss?"

"Another, please," Lily handed her the glass and kept her eyes locked with Ian's. The waitress shifted nervously on her feet.

"Uh, I'm sorry but I think you've—"

"She's with me," Ian jumped in. "Poor girl, she's had a bad day, ya know? So, if it's okay with you she just needs to relax..."

He then flashed the waitress a gorgeous smiled that made her weak at the knees, and Lily wasn't affected by it either. Seeing those pearly whites of his only made her want him more and she was pondering the options of going home with him that night. She certainly wanted to. Minutes later, the waitress came back with a glass of Jack Daniels for Lily and another beer for Ian, and he had barely brought the glass to his lips and stopped, shocked, at seeing Lily already finishing off her drink and slammed the glass back down on the table.

"Whoa..." he muttered. "Having fun there?"

"Oh yeah," Lily gave him a smile that did nothing but ignite his desire for her further, and he bit his lip. "Wanna dance?"

Ian leaned across the table and seductively raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you can handle it?"

Lily scoffed and also leaned forward, so that from across the table their faces came to within inches and she turned up the heat between them by licking her top lip. "I can handle anything, baby."

Ian stood up an offered her his hand and without a moment's hesitation, Lily took it and he helped her up. She staggered a bit from the effects of the alcohol, but this kind stranger caught her in his arms before she completely toppled over and he led her out onto the dance floor, leaving their stuff at the table, but within eye shot. By now the club was packed to capacity and there were so many bodies on the dance floor that it was impossible for everyone not to rub up against each. The atmosphere was so sexually charged and the alcohol only fired it up further.

Once on the dance floor, Ian slipped his arms around Lily's slender waist and she put her arms around his neck, and he pulled her to him so their bodies were right up against one another. Letting the rhythm of the music take over her, Lily moved to the music so easily and feeling Ian's strong muscles against hers... this was everything she never got to experience, and everything she had missed in life. She didn't blame Kady for it – no way. But this was a part of her life she never had a chance to embrace, and now she was getting that chance.

"Wow you're good..." he growled in her ear and then kissed her bare shoulder, his tongue caressing her skin so delicately that it sent shivers down her spine, but Lily kept move. "I take it that you dance often..."

"Hell no," she said. "I don't dance. This is a one-time exception."

"Because of the alcohol?"

"Because I have demons I wanna forget."

"If this is how good you are at dancing, I'd love to know how good you are at other... activities..."

Lily giggled and pulled him closer. Ian moved his kisses to her neck, sucking on the tenderness of her soft skin and teased her physically with his skill. That's it. She was taking this guy home.

Another hour and a half of dancing and drinking with Ian provided Lily with more fun and excitement than she'd experienced in the last few years and now they had just pulled into the driveway of her home, with Ian driving. He wasn't as intoxicated as Lily, though was having so much fun with her in the state she was in. He switched off the ignition and both needed a minute two to calm down after laughing so hard. Lily couldn't even remember why they were laughing, but whatever the reason was, she was loving all of this. No responsibilities. No child to deal with. No stress.

"You're a fucking riot, ya know that?" Ian laughed, leaning his head back against the headrest.

"Now THAT'S because of the alcohol," she said and grabbed her purse and coat which she had thrown into the back of her car. Ian removed the keys and opened his door; Lily didn't wait for him to come get her and undid her seatbelt, and threw the door open so hard that she thought it might come off its hinges. Ian rounded the front of the car and stopped at her side, helping her out of the car and she almost went tumbling onto the lawn. "Oh, man I am fucked."

"Not just yet you're not," he retorted, cheekily.

"Oh, dude come ON!" Lily replied, mockingly disgusted and crinkled her nose. "That's just dirty."

"You like it," Ian countered and slammed the car door shut again, turning to her and she practically threw herself in his arms, kissing him passionately.

"Fuck yeah I do," she hissed and pulled at the bottom of his shirt. "Inside, now. Or I'll be forced to take you down right here."

"Feisty girl, ain't ya?"

"Not at all! I just have the overwhelming desire; the need to get laid. If you don't wanna oblige, I can easily go somewhere else," she played, her eyes sparkling with a seductive beauty that could make any man fall to his knees. Ian was no exception, and he allowed her to lead him up the path at to the front door.

It took several minutes for them to both figure out the mystery of opening the front door, before realizing that she was trying to use her car key to open it. And of course they had a good laugh about it, and finally after several unsuccessful attempts to fit the proper key into the door, Lily actually managed to unlock it. The door swung open, and in an instant Ian had spun her around and kissed her, causing her to stagger back and against the wall. Lily threw her coat to the ground, and he kicked the door closed behind them, inadvertently leaving the key in the front door.

The dramatic, passionate, heated kiss continued all the way to the bedroom; Lily lifted her top over her head and let it fall not-so-gracefully to the floor and Ian started at her skirt. Lily broke the kiss and pulled him by the hand into her bedroom, and it was then that she noticed she still had her handbag dangling from her arm for some reason and dropped it next to her bed. Ian's tongue pushed further into the depths of her mouth, exploring and also encouraging her to respond, which she did.

To say things were steamy would be a gross understatement, and when Ian struggled with the zip to her skirt, Lily rolled her eyes and assisted him, and soon was left in nothing but her bra, panties, and also wearing those very expensive black heels.

"Wait, stop. This isn't right!" she suddenly spoke, seriously, through her drunken state, and fell back onto the bed. Ian stared down at her, hoping she hadn't changed her mind.

"What?"

Lily's seriousness then turned into a kind of pout, that of a true temptress. "You're wearing more clothes than me."

He relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'll change that!"

"No, I will!"

She sat back up, and reached to him and gripped his shirt and pulled him down onto her on the bed, reconnecting them with the kiss. They shifted themselves into the center of the bed and then Lily placed her hands on his chest and pushed him up and off her, and he fell onto his back. She positioned herself to straddle him and went straight for his belt, still not having broken the kiss. In between the hot, deep kisses their breathing deepened and became more ragged. Ian was more than willing to let Lily take over and was not

opposing her aggressive nature. In his mind, whatever shit she had been going through she was translating that frustration and pain very well in the bedroom. Within seconds, the belt was on the floor and Lily then, literally, tore at his shirt. Even she was surprised at her enthusiasm, but barely gave herself a chance to think about it. Then, his shirt was thrown and landed near the belt and she ran her hands up his chest, feeling his chest hairs between her fingers. And then...

* * *

**A/N2:** I have just had word from Lizzie that she plans to take the president hostage until she gets the world's supply of M&Ms. Damn. I'd hate to tell you this, Lizzie, but I don't think anyone will bother paying the ransom for him. You're better off taking some cute little kid hostage instead. As always, please let us know what you think of this chapter by leaving a review. They are all appreciated. Thank you. **_Phoenix_**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** BOO! Hahaha! I'm baaaaaaaaaack! Phoenix is... she's disappeared (one can only hope!) Well, actually no she hasn't. She has, for some insane reason, decided to crawl under that stupid little rock of hers and won't budge. Seriously. I've tried. I've tried tempting her but it ain't working. So, everyone enjoy this latest installment from MunkeyBananananaProductions, while I go go pry Phoenix out from under that damn rock with a crowbar... or maybe by tieing up Chris Harris or Andy Douglas (or both) and holding them outside of her rock and see what peeks out! So if I don't return, assume that I'm taking care of Phoenix... violently. Or that she's decided to be a bitch and annoy the hell out me. Either way. ENJOY! (I'm serious dudes... she's insane)... **_Lizzie_**

* * *

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING

Lily groaned.

"Shouldn't you get that?" he breathed in the second of space between kisses, before her lips were glued to his again.

"No. Fuck it." She replied, her voice raspy, tainted with desire and the effects of rapid drinking.

At the hotel, Chris paced his room back and forth, waiting for Lily to pick up the phone. It had been hours since she stormed off in a panicked, enraged state that now he was worried about her and wanted to make sure she was okay. As he waited, he stopped pacing for just a moment and looked over at the second bed that was near his own. Kady was sleeping peacefully, and had fallen asleep practically when her head hit the pillow, and Chris couldn't be more thankful for that. Now with Lily in the emotional state she was in, he didn't trust that she'd be okay on her own.

"Where the hell are you, girl?" he impatiently whispered.

After the fifth ring, he contemplated hanging up and waiting until morning, but out of fear that she could be in trouble or doing something stupid, he paced again. "Lily, what are you doing?"

Back with Lily, she prepared to disrobe her one-night man but the ringing persisted and did not go away as she anticipated it would. Ian, now, was growing annoyed as well and she could tell it with his ever weakening response to her advances. Finally, she pulled away just long enough to turn on her bedroom lamp and reach down the side of the bed and felt for her bag. When she felt the familiar leather material between her fingers, she reached into it and seconds later sat back up with the phone in her hands. Without even looking at the caller ID, she threw the phone as hard as she could to the side, and it shattered against the wall. Ian stared at her, amused.

"There," she told him. "Now. Where were we?"

Chris jumped when the dial tone, the ringing sound cut out for no reason and he pulled his phone away from his ear to check what had happened. Call failure. He wasn't willing to give up and pressed redial, and held the phone to his ear again. But instead of getting a ring tone this time, and automatic voice recording took its place.

"_This call cannot be connected. Please try again later." _

What the hell? Only seconds earlier he had got a ring tone and now there was no connection? Panic set in and Chris ended the call and grabbed his jacket, and went over to Kady's bed and knelt down at the side she was on.

"Kady?" he whispered, shaking her a little. He didn't want to wake her up, but figured that it was better that she know that he was going somewhere than to wake up and think that he too has left her. "Kady, sweetheart?"

She moaned and her eyes flickered open. "Hmm?"

"Baby, it's okay. I need to go somewhere, okay? You hang here and sleep, I won't be long. I'll call into the desk downstairs and let them know you're here, so they'll keep an eye on you. Stay and sleep, okay?"

Kady was too tired to argue or even move, so her simple reply was, "Mm..."

Chris chuckled and stroked her hair for a few seconds, and then kissed her cheek. "Sleep well."

He stood up and went to the door of the room, taking the key with him for extra security and quietly slipped out, with little disturbance to Kady as she returned to the depths of slumber.

Five minutes later, the elevator doors opened and Chris stepped off and looked around at the brightly lit lobby and felt for his car keys that were sitting in his pocket. The place was fairly empty, with exception to a few hotel staff members and even a couple of other wrestlers still hanging about. It was well into the early hours of the morning, around 2:30 AM, and now the thought of having to deal with another crisis with Lily was so frustrating.

"Chris."

He turned around and, sure enough, Jeff Hardy was approaching him. The two men greeted with a handshake. Chris was amazed to see him looking actually normal for once, as usually they had only encountered one another backstage at shows.

"Hey, man," he replied wearily. "What's up?"

"I was about to say the same thing to you. How's things?"

"Not good," Chris admitted, shaking his head sadly. "The good news is Kady has calmed down. The bad news is I can't find her mother."

"Lily's missing?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. I think she just doesn't want to be found..."

Jeff shrugged. "Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is she's done this too often. Running away from her problems. She needs to take responsibility..." Chris told him, but could feel each word sting with hypocrisy, for the obvious reasons that it took him so long to take responsibility. "Anyway you don't wanna hear it, man. She and I gotta sort this out."

As per his usual laid back, chilled demeanor, Jeff leaned against the wall and was not fazed at all by what his colleague was saying. Whatever Lily and Chris' problems were, he didn't really care, but was concerned about how that kid was doing. What he had seen out in that ring the night before had stunned him as much as it did anyone else and he was surprised that Dixie hadn't unleashed her hellish wrath on all of them and fired them on the spot. The annoying fact that AMW and The Naturals were considered two of the best teams in TNA probably influenced her decision greatly, but like everyone else, Jeff was curious.

"Need any help in the search?" he offered, seeing the stress Chris was under.

"Thanks for the offer, Jeff, but I'm good. If, and when, I find that infuriating woman, I think it's best we be alone."

"Ah. No witnesses?"

"Pretty much."

"How about the kid? She holding up okay?"

"Kady's fine. She's sleeping. In fact..." Chris pulled from his pocket the key to his room and extended it to Jeff. Jeff didn't take it and stared with confusion, so Chris explained further, "You're one of the few people my daughter hasn't attempted to kill and, dare I say, actually acted normal around. I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye on her for me?"

"I thought you said she was sleeping."

"She is. But knowing Kadence... she does get bored easily, so if she does wake up I'd like it if she stayed in the room. At least there, any damage from her anger is contained."

Jeff accepted the key and placed it in his pocket. "I'm heading up to my room anyway. I'll check in on her for you."

"You know I appreciate this, right?"

"I'm surprised you didn't get Storm to do it."

"My guess is he's stilled pissed off about what happened. Not that I blame him. Anyway I think he's passed out in his room. Idiot."

Jeff reaffirmed he would keep an eye on the girl and the two men parted ways, with Chris heading to the entrance and Jeff waited for the elevator. It was freezing cold outside but Chris wasn't phased by it and quickly walked to his car, unlocking the door. If he had to chose as to whether he believed Lily was in danger or if she was deciding to be a bitch and simply completely ignore him, he'd choose the latter. But still, given the state of mind she was in when she left them, there was a good chance she was in trouble. Trouble seemed to follow all of them lately.

Twenty minutes of driving didn't calm Chris down and as he drove, his fingers drummed against the steering wheel with building anticipation. He checked the rear view mirror and focused solely on remembering the location of Lily's house. After a further twenty minutes of driving, he pulled into a somewhat familiar street that connected to one where the house was located on and perked up a bit more, mentally pushing away the fatigue that was creeping up on him. He turned the car into the right street and in an instant he spotted Lily's car in her driveway.

Unaware of the imminent confrontation, Lily slipped a loose fitting t-shirt over her otherwise sweaty, fatigued and somewhat satisfied body, before pulling on her underwear. She glanced back at Ian who had fallen asleep only a minute after they finished, which pissed her off to no end. This guy was physically a perfect specimen in every way, but when it came to sex? The dude was just not good at all. She groaned and held her hands to the sides of her head and wanted to scream, the pounding headache doing nothing to absolve her of her misery. Lily then turned to see what the time was on the clock next to her bed and saw that it read 2:46 AM.

"Fuck..." she cried weakly and staggered around the side of her bed and pushed open the door.

Turning the light on when dragging herself into the kitchen proved to be a bad decision; the light hitting her face and Lily fell back against the fridge and covered her face until her eyes had appropriately adjusted to suit the change in lighting dynamics. She then turned to the fridge and inspected the contents, and smiled when coming across the left over chocolate cake from the last week when she had a couple of her old Kentucky friends over for a brief visit.

Upon taking the cake from the fridge and closing the door, she put it on the counter and reached into a cabinet and grabbed a plate. Before she could get the knife to cut it though, she suddenly remembered that she had left her keys in the front door! Lily didn't know why she remembered it now, but she abandoned her efforts for food and calmly left to retrieve the keys.

Chris stopped on the front porch and leaned down closer to see if what he thought he was seeing was real. He never knew Lily to be reckless with such important items as her house keys and it was not like her at all, at least not what he knew of her. At the very moment he took the key out of the lock, the door swung open and almost knocked him off his feet, the outdoor light coming on at the same time.

"Holy shit!" Lily screamed and jumped back, her hand over her heart. Chris, too, stumbled back and stared in shock. Lily Myers was standing at her door in nothing but a loose t-shirt and her underwear? "Chris! What the fuck!"

"Lily! Fuck, wha—" Chris turned away to avoid the extremely uncomfortable situation of seeing his ex in a very compromising position.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Me! I've tried calling you all night!" he retorted angrily, still avoiding eye contact.

Lily desperately looked around for something to cover herself with, though had no luck and pressed herself behind the door, allowing only her head to peek around the side of it and Chris finally could look up at her and was as embarrassed as she was. Oh boy, could this get anymore awkward?

"Yeah, well I thought by me not answering would give you a subtle hint that I didn't wanna speak to you!" she screamed.

"Look, forget it!" he said, sick of the games and briskly walked into the house.

The momentary embarrassment disappeared when he remembered that this was Lily Myers he was talking to, so it didn't bother him. He was here to discuss Kady and he wasn't about to let Lily get away from this again without getting this straightened out. The thought of doing what was best for their daughter was enough to brush aside any insecure, childish, embarrassed feelings... at least for him. Lily, on the other hand, didn't quite see it like that.

"Chris!" she protested.

"Lily, I've seen you in less, so just let it go. You know why I'm here."

He then walked to her and glared angrily and pressed his hand to the door, shutting it with intended force.

"Chris Harris, get—"

"I am not going anywhere until we sort this out. Kady was crying herself to sleep tonight thinking that her own mother hated her—"

Lily opened her mouth to speak, but they were interrupted when footsteps approached and one of the hallway lights flickered on. A second later, Ian groggily walked around the corner rubbing his eyes, wearing nothing but boxer shorts. He opened his eyes and it was then that he noticed Chris, and was noticed in return. Chris' eyes widened in complete surprise and his jaw almost hit the floor. Lily groaned and her head fell in her hands, and could not believe this was happening. Not now. Not at 3 Am. Not when she was already nursing a killer hangover.

"Who the fuck are you?" Ian snapped, with the full realization of seeing his beautiful woman for the night in very close proximity to another man. Chris was a complete stranger to him and thus was immediately perceived as a threat.

"Lily what is going on?" Chris demanded, the force at which he spoke making her jump again, and she melted and meekly turned away.

Why she was feeling ashamed she didn't know. She didn't need to explain herself to him of all people! The truth was, Lily didn't need to answer him for Chris to know what was going on, and it was a complete shock because the Lily Myers he knew was way conservative and wouldn't go out and randomly pick up a guy. And another truth was... it hurt. A pang of jealously flashed through him and there was nothing stopping him from throwing this guy through the window.

"Lily?" Ian frowned and looked back at her. "You told me your name is Jillian."

Still zoned out from the humiliation and her mind on overdrive to go into damage control, Lily didn't answer.

"Well she lied, asshole," Chris told him. "Get dressed and get your ass out of here, before I throw you through the fucking wall."

Lily was taken aback with the level of aggression he was showing to this random guy she had picked up, and she shoved him lightly.

"Hey! It's not your business to tell me who I can hang with, Harris!"

"You're not gonna whore yourself out just because you're upset!"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!" she yelled, and went to hit him again, but he expertly caught her fist in his hand and, because of her tiredness, she quickly gave up.

"I have every right, Lil, and you know it. I'm Kady's father, so I do have a say what happens in this house now."

Ian scowled and launched himself at Chris, but the other man was too quick and stepped out of the way, letting Ian's weight cause him to fall to the ground. Chris then roughly grabbed him by the shoulders, digging his fingers into the strange man's skin which made him yell out on pain as he was dragged to his feet. He stood no chance against a professional wrestler and Chris twisted his arm around his back and threw him against the wall. Lily then took the opportunity and latched onto his arm, pulling him away as best she could as to diffuse the growing hostility between the men.

"Chris, stop it!" she pleaded.

"Get your stuff and get out," he growled at Ian, who nodded quickly in response, and then was let go.

Chris threw Ian forward and the man then disappeared back into the bedroom, while Lily and Chris remained silent. The silence continued until he reappeared a few minutes later and quickly thanked Lily for the 'good time', which only tensed Chris further and he slammed the door after the asshole. Now he could be fully attentive to Lily who again looked away... she didn't need him judging her now. But disappointment had replaced any anger he had for her, because he never suspected that she'd be capable of something like this.

"Don't say it, Chris," she warned and brushed past him, intentionally knocking his shoulder as she walked by and into the living room.

"You know I will," he replied, following her. "What were you thinking?"

"I was having fun, Chris. Something I haven't done in ages! For once I actually got to go out and do the things I never got to when I was younger!" Lily fumed stopped in the middle of the room. "What is with you? It's 3 AM, couldn't this wait until the morning?"

"No! You wanna know why, Lily? Because I was worried. Knowing how you were when you bailed on Kady last night, and then you're phone suddenly disconnected... what was I supposed to think?"

"That I was maybe living my life? I don't know, Chris. I don't know you anymore. Maybe I never did, I don't know. But I do know that when I was at the club, and when I was with him tonight... it all went away. The pain. The headaches. Fourteen years of feeling like the most horrible person on the planet because I could never keep my kid under control!" during her mini-rant, Lily already had tears streaming out of her eyes like someone had opened the floodgates.

"I can't take it anymore, Chris. I'm human, okay? I know I've fucked up raising Kady, and I have to live with that, not you! And I don't need you making me feel worse, because right now I've pretty much made me feel as crap as I can! In two months you've been able to control Kady and get her to open up better than I have all her life! You've shown that you're the better parent, okay? YOU WIN! Happy?"

Chris watched sadly when she sank to the floor in a mess. Lily sobbed, her body shaking violently each time her cries became too much to keep under control, and sitting there half-naked and completely broken in front of the man who broke her heart and walked out on them was even worse. Kady wanted them both. Lily wasn't sure if that was ever going to be possible.

"It's over, Lil," he softly told her. "She needs us."

"And how are we gonna do that, huh? When it's painfully obvious to even the dumbest of people that you and I can barely coexist. Chris, this isn't working. It won't work. She can't have us both without things turning out like this again... she's hurt me too many times. You both have. And I don't want any part of it anymore..."

Chris edged past the coffee table and knelt down next to her, putting his hand on her back to keep her from tipping over. Hangovers tend to cause severe balance impairment at times.

"Lil... this isn't about you. It's not about me. We have to be her parents now. She's a broken kid and if you and I don't do something now it's only gonna get worse. This was never a competition for her love, and you know it. She doesn't need punishment, Lily, she needs understanding. She needs us to understand her, to help her."

Lily slumped against the sofa and gently pulled at her messed up hair – she couldn't coherently think of sentences let alone ponder the future of her only child. All she wanted to do that night was to go out, get drunk, get laid and wake up alone the next morning to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. Why couldn't he let her do that in peace?

"Come on," he continued and stood back up, offering her his hand. "We need to get some coffee into you."

She hesitated, unsure if this would lead to more trouble, but then accepted his offer and allowed him to help her up. In her mind, coffee would be her salvation.

Jeff Hardy stepped off the elevator and checked the tag on the key Chris had given him. Just his luck, Chris and Kady's room was at the opposite end of the hallway to his own. He'd have to make a special trip to their end of the hall to keep his word to Chris. Sighing, he started walking, a smirk forming on his face as he spotted the snack machines. He dug for change in his pocket and got himself something to eat – supplies for the long trek to the end of the hall.

Munching away, he counted the doors, mentally trying to work out where Chris' room was. He picked a door and, as he stepped up to it, checked the number against the one on the key. Perfect. He slipped the key into the lock and turned it, wondering what would greet him on the other side of the door. Would Kady have woken up in the few minutes since her father had left and trashed the room? Pushing the door open quietly, he peeked in, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness the room contained.

Looking around, he couldn't see any signs of destruction. He opened the door fully and stepped into the room before closing the door behind him, making sure he'd removed the key first. He walked carefully over to the beds in the room and quickly spotted Kady's sleeping form. He smiled slightly, wondering what she was dreaming about – if anything. He hoped it was something good. She'd seen enough bad shit that night as it was.

Reaching a hand down without realizing it, Jeff tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. The slight touch of his fingers to her cheek startled Kady awake and she sat bolt upright, sending Jeff reeling back in shock. Kady turned to look in his direction and, not recognizing the person in the dark, let out an ear piercing scream. Jeff held his hands over his ears and tried to calm her down.

"Kady, stop! It's me, Jeff. It's okay!" He assured her. Kady stopped screaming and leaned over, switching on the lamp next to her bed.

"Jeff? What the fuck? You scared the hell out of me!" She scolded him.

"No kidding. I think everyone in the damn hotel knows that now." Jeff told her as he tried to get his hearing back to normal.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Kady asked, now that she'd calmed down enough to think about this strange visitor. She looked around the room but couldn't see Chris anywhere.

"Your dad asked me to come up and check on you. He's gone to find your mom... seemed kind of worried." Jeff explained to the best of his knowledge.

"So... you got stuck with babysitting duties. Nice." Kady teased. Jeff shrugged.

"Could be worse. I could be stuck on vomit detail – cleaning Storm up after a night out." He pointed out.

"Ew! Thanks, dude. I can really sleep again now that I have that image in my head." Kady laughed, shaking her head to try and get rid of the mental pictures.

"Sorry. Now that you're awake, though... want to see what's on?" He wondered, motioning towards the Tv.

Kady thought it over and nodded before Jeff grabbed the remote and turned the television on. He was about to sit on the floor when Kady scooted over slightly and patted the bed beside her. Taking the hint, he sat next to her and leaned back against the headboard and began channel surfing, trying to find something suitable for a fourteen year old girl to watch. When the screen showed some sort of motocross event, Kady pulled the remote from his hand and tossed it towards the end of the bed.

"You like motocross?" Jeff queried. Kady shook her head a little.

"Not really. I just like seeing the crashes. Plus, if anything will put me back to sleep, it'd be this." She reasoned.

Jeff laughed slightly and settled in to watch the action. It wasn't long before Kady nestled into his side and he put an arm around her slightly. Not long after that, he looked down to see her fast asleep, a peaceful expression on her face. Once again he found himself wondering if she'd be having good dreams. He carefully maneuvered the remote back up the bed and managed to grab it and use it to turn the television off again. He sat there in the dim lamp light and began humming a random tune that had been playing through his head for the better part of the day.

Chris watched Lily sipping at her coffee and wondered what was going on in her head right at that moment. He wished he could just snap his fingers and be able to read her mind. As well as he'd known her throughout high school, he had to admit that he had no clue who the hell she was now and that frustrated him. He couldn't work out how to approach the whole Kady topic without her losing it again. Deciding he'd have to just do it and deal with the consequences, he cleared his throat to get her attention.

"When you've finished that, go have a shower and then you and I are gonna talk this thing out." He told her firmly.

"Don't tell me what to do. I'm not in the mood to fucking talk." Lily snapped, setting her coffee down on the table between them.

"Too bad, Lil, because it's gonna happen. I'm not leaving here until we work things through, once and for all. We owe it to Kady to get things sorted." He replied, taking a sip of his own coffee and watching her reaction over the top of the mug.

"And what about what she owes us, huh? A little fucking respect isn't too much to ask, is it?" Lily shot back, her defenses on full alert.

"To get it, you've got to give it. We've got to earn it, just like she has to earn ours."

"Stop talking about us like we're together. I'm sick of it."

"Whether you like it or not, Lil, we have to be together on this. We need to present a united front otherwise things are just going to keep going wrong. I know I've had enough of that, haven't you?" He challenged calmly.

"Whatever."

"Do me a favour and quit acting like you are still in high school. Now, you look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want to go back to her."

No matter what he was gonna ask of her, she wasn't prepared to make eye contact again after the embarressing situation they had gotten themselves into, and that's not referring him seeing her in her underwear. Having him walk in on her and her relatively anonymous friend was not only embarressing, but it was completely uncharacteritic of her and Chris knew it.

"I don't hate my daughter, Chris. You know that, right?" she timidly said, hoping he would understand that.

"I know. But she doesn't. You can give me every excuse you can throw at me, and it won't make a damn difference because it's Kady who needs to hear it," Chris told her. "I almost gave up, Lily. And that almost destroyed me. Now I know for a fact that you wouldn't be able to live with yourself for two hours – sober, that is – without making up to that girl. Don't give her a reason to give up. You're a fucking joke, you know that? A hypocrit. After everything you accuse me of doing and you don't got the guts to admit that you're screwing her up even worse now."

Lily, surprisingly, didn't feel any anger to him for saying the things that would normally piss her off, especially coming from him. She didn't have the energy to fight back, and had to sit there and take it all in. She sipped her coffee and calmly placed it back on the table, clasping it between her hands to feel the warmth.

"I just don't have the energy for it anymore... it's so hard to watch her do that all the time and not learn from it! Five different schools in six years, and that doesn't include transfering from elementary to junior high, to high school... once she almost blew up an entire science block of her school, not just the lab," Lily reminicised the horrible day when she got called up to the principle's office to be told that Kady was being expelled and there were almost criminal charges brought against her, but the public defender hired to defend her got the school to drop any charges they wanted to press. Kady hadn't intentionally meant to blow up anything, of course, but it was her recklessly dangerous 'I-don't-give-a-damn-about-anything' attitude that caused it.

"When was this?" Chris asked, concerned.

"About two years ago. That was a fun time," Lily rolled her eyes. "But see what I mean? It's so God damn hard to see her making the same mistakes and no matter what I do to help her or punish her... it's never getting through to the kid!"

"Lil, are you ever gonna look at me again?"

"Are we ever gonna bring this night up again?"

"Nope."

"Swear?"

"I swear. I have no intention of bringing any of this up again, only if you and I can sort out what we're gonna do about Kady."

Lily smirked and looked out the window, into the darkness. "Well you and I are gonna have to encounter each other more than this night. Never bring this up again."

"Deal."

"Good." She smiled and looked up at him, satisfied with the small deal they made.

"So back on topic here... what have you done to help her, Lil? All it looks like to me is that you've tried to sling endless attempts to punish her further and futher, all the while pushing her away and see you as nothing but a bitch," Chris figured and finished off the last of his coffee, and stood up to put the cup in the sink. "How else is she supposed to respond to you?"

Lily kept silent, thinking over that point as best she could without bringing on an even worse headache. Minutes earlier she had taken two very strong headache tablets and they had yet to take affect. Chris thought about how to keep making her think things through, and what he would say next would put a whole new spin on things for her...

"You say that you want her to learn from her mistakes... so why don't you learn from mine?"

She almost choked on her drink and patted her chest to make sure it didn't go down the wrong way. "What?"

"I left and nearly destroyed everything... you leaving her would be doing the exact same things and we'd be going in circles," he elaborated and jumped up to sit on the kitchen counter, across from her. "Congratulations, Lily Myers. You've turned into your worse nightmare."

Lily laughed weakly, and circled the rim of her cup with her index finger slowly. "Believe it or not, you're actually not the asshole I used to think you were. You're off my 'worst nightmare' list for now. Except when you scared the shit outta me when I opened the door tonight."

"Good to know that you don't wanna kill me right now. Because this is the time when you decide if you'r gonna walk out on Kady for good... don't do what I did, it'll only scare and confuse her. If you wanna bail, then you go and don't come back. I'll take her and you'll never hear from us. We can't keep jumping in and out of her life like this," Chris turned deadly serious upon seeing the clock time move to almost three thirty. Time was running out and they were both tired, and Lily cast her eyes down to her hands.

"I love her, Chris."

"I know you do, Lil," Chris stressed, with a hint of desperation. "I've known that for as long as she's been born. That's why I don't wanna see you blow this, like I did. There's a good chance that I'll never fully gain her trust... but you have it. And if you lose it, it'll be next to impossible to get it back given how much shit we've put her through already. I know how much you love her... and this, what you've done tonight," he gestuered to her physically messed-up, hungover state.

"That's not the Lily Myers I knew. That's not the Lily Myers I knew who would do anything to keep her daughter safe... that's what I'm here. If I didn't believe that you weren't a great mother, Lil... I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be here trying to make this work. I would've already hauled your ass into court if I felt you weren't an excellent mother. You've been there for the moments I never got have with Kady – her first steps. Her first words. Losing her first tooth. And I guess the only way I will know about those things is through videos and pictures... believe it or not, you know how lucky you are to have her. I'd give anything to be in your position," he paused and raised an eyebrow. "Well, not right now I don't. But you know what I mean. You're a wondeful mother, Lil... the fact that you put up with her and never gave up on her for so long is a testament to that; you're one of the strongest people I know."

"Except now I have..." she whispered, ashamed.

"No, you haven't," Chris continued. "You haven't given up. You just need a break, and I'm gonna offer you one. I think Kady should stay with me for a few weeks, ya know? To give you the break you obviously need – and deserve – to just do what you want. And if that means going out every night and picking up and bringing home anonymous guys, fine! Go for it. Get it all out of your system. But you have to make things right with your child first, okay? Let her know that you love her, she needs to hear it from you and for you to show her that you love her..."

Lily's bottom lip quivered, she felt like a volcano that was about to explode and trembled violently, the coffee cup still in her hands and it spilled slightly, and she dropped it onto the table

"Shit!" she yelled, grabbing her hand which burned. Chris slid off the counter and grabbed the cup before it fell off the table, but watched Lily.

"Are you okay?"

"NO I'M NOT FUCKING OKAY!" she screamed, and Chris knew she wasn't talking about the burn, but he didn't go to her. Instead, he stood at the table with a damp cloth in his hand and sadly watched her, and wiped up the spilt coffee and waited to see what she was gonna do.

"I'm not fucking okay," Lily repeated, hysterically, and collapsed to the ground and sobbed into her hands. "I'm not..."

The appropriate thing for Chris to do would've been to go to her and comfort her, but he still stood a distance away, for a good reason. He dropped the cloth onto the counter and folded his arms over his chest, stubbornly.

"Get up." He said.

"What?"

"Get up, Lil. I'm not gonna help you. This is something you got to do for yourself now. If you really wanna make things right with Kadence... you'll get up on your own. Show me you're still the strong, brave woman I know you are. Or, alternatively, you can sit there and lose the greatest thing you've ever had, or ever will have... you know I'm here for you, Lil, but this is the step you gotta take on your own. You either embrace your daughter or you let her go. For good."

Chris still knew how to push her buttons and get her to do something; it was a secret gift he knew he could call upon in times like this, and casually waited for her to do something. Lily stared up at him in disbelief and confusion, but he still didn't move and she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Get up, Lily. Go put that burn under some water and then go to bed. You're a mess."

Lily sat there, still calming down from that sporadic outburst of emotion and took deep breathes to aid in her recovery and enclosed her fingers around the side of the chair she had been sitting on. It took all the remaining energy she had mustered from the two coffees she had, and Chris watched with amusement at her struggle to steady herself. This wasn't the first time he had seen Lily hungover, and although it had been over ten years, it was still as funny as ever. She never did hold her alchol well. But after another two or so minutes of getting steady on her feet, Lily shot him an evil look.

"Ya know," she said. "Things between you and I would probably flow more smoothly if you weren't such a stubborn bastard all the time."

"But it wouldn't be as much fun that way," he replied with that same cocky smirk that could be very annoying at times. "Don't you agree?"

"Nope."

"Aww I'm hurt."

"So am I," Lily mumbled, rubbing her hand where the hot liquid had made contact with her skin and she could see it was already forming a tender, red spot.

"Go run it under cold water, and then, like I suggested, go to bed. I'll clean up here and come back for you in the morning," he offered, picking up the cloth again. Lily groaned.

"Why are you so nice to me now?"

"Because," Chris shrugged. "When I see you, I see her. You and I have something to share now, and she's worth more than anything. Including fighting with you. Besides, you're hungover... you never did handle your booze well, Myers. So I take pity."

Lily pressed her lips together and picked up a scrap piece of paper off the table, screwed it up into a ball and threw it at his head. Chris ducked out of the way and grinned.

"Fuck you, Harris."

"Whatever. Go to bed." He then turned to finish mopping up the mess she had made, and Lily watched him for a few seconds, and then looked around at the room, pondering the options. He had come over here to help her, when he was under no obligation to do so...

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"You can crash on the couch, if you want. You look too tired to drive."

Chris was surprised at the offer, but shrugged and shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine. I don't wanna leave Kady alone for too long anyway. I wanna be back before she wakes up."

"That reminds me," Lily perked up a bit, figuring that she had caught him out. "Why did you leave her alone?"

Chris remained unfazed and placed her cup in the sink, and laughed. "I didn't. You still think I'm that irresponsible? First of all, you know I came here to sort things out with you. Second, I didn't leave her alone."

"Then who did you leave her with? James?"

"No. Who knows where he is right now. I asked Jeff Hardy to keep an eye on her until I got back. He's a night crawler anyway, so he didn't mind."

"Oh..."

Lily shifted uncomfortably and sighed, defeated as he had an answer for everything and decided to give up there and concede to his words. "Okay then... I'm gonna go sleep the rest of this off."

Chris finished cleaning up the mess and wiped his hands on the towel, and she never thought she'd be saying to him what she was about to, but...

"Chris?"

"Yup?"

"Thanks... for everything... You've really done good."

"Forget it. You would've done the same for me. Oh wait! No you wouldn't have!" he joked. "That means you owe me!"

"Aww dude, come on!"

"Do I have to tell you to go to bed again?"

"Fine, fine, I'm going!" she raised her hands, exhasperated and started to head towards the bedroom at the other end of the house, and Chris followed after her to get to the front door, picking up his car keys and wallet as he passed the table.

"Hey, Lil?"

"Hmm?" she replied, not turning around until she reached the front door.

"So I'll pick you up at around 9?"

Lily didn't respond right away, and then burst out laughing. Chris frowned gsetured for her to explain.

"Okay... something funny? Lily it's too early, come on..."

"Sorry!" she gasped in the moments of breath between laughs. "It's just... that was what you said when you asked me out on that first date, remember? You walked right up to me and just said it. So fucking arrogant in thinking I'd say yes..."

It took a few seconds, but finally Chris caught on and he rubbed the side of his head, containing his own laughter at that amusing thought. Okay. She got him.

"Yeah, hard to forget," he admitted, fondly. "But hey, you did say yes."

"I know! What was I thinking?"

"Apparently what all the other cheerleaders were telling you to think, because I think that's the only reason you accepted."

Lily got control back over herself and calmed down, but still smiled at the memory, one of the better ones of them too. "Awww nah, Chris," she replied, softly. "There were other reasons, for sure. The cheerleaders had nothing to do with it."

That made him feel a little better, to know that none of this had occured for no reason.

"That's good to know..." he trailed off and they fell into silence for a minute or two, but unlike all the other silent moments between them, this wasn't uncomfortable. It was peaceful. "It's great to see you smile again, Lil. It really is."

"That was always a talent of yours, I guess," she agreed. "But it does feel good."

"So... you and I... we're good now?" Chris asked, with a touch of hope.

Lily relaxed, leaning against the door frame, and she stuck out her hand in a formal gesture of acceptance.

"We're good," she affirmed and nodded, imploring Chris to accept and he did, but instead of shaking her hand, he moved closer to her and kissed her cheek, in the ultimate act of forgiveness and an offering of permanent peace.

"You're a good person, Lily," he told her, seriously, as he stepped back and clutched his keys in his hand. "I've always known that, and deep down so does Kady. So I won't come get you... I trust you'll make the right decision." He then turned and walked out the door, and to his car, without looking back once. Lily stared after him as those last words he spoke hung in the air.

* * *

**A/N:**

_(Laughs insanely at Phoenix tieing up Chris & Andy. Turns to see the readers finished_)

Oh good! You are done! Well, as you all can see I managed to successfully get Phoenix out from under her rock, so that she can post the next chapter but that seems a little way off coz she looks kinda occupied right now. Phoenix, I'm warning you, play nice! We still need those boys. She's a friggen trip, she really is... okay so please review! Tell us how fcking awesome we are, or give constructive criticism, or hey! You can even tell us how absolutely crap it is and how it should be burned. That's okay though. If you opt for the last choice, I suggest you come back with heavy armour and an army for protection coz Phoenix and I are pretty much the definition of INSANE and any flames will be destroyed (along with it's authour! Mwuahaha!) in the most psychotic way possible. But other than that, the next chapter will be up soon, if Phoenix can stop hiding under that rock. Dude! Seriously! What's up with the rock? **_Lizzie_**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

**A/N:** Okay, I guess I've been hiding under my rock for long enough. Seeing as the site's back up and, just to show that I'm still alive (meaning Lizzie hasn't killed me yet), here's another chapter for you. Thanks to everyone that's reviewed this so far, it means a lot to both Lizzie and I, though she'll probably never admit it. Now, I'm off to torture... I mean... play with, Chris Harris and Andy Douglas. **_Phoenix

* * *

_**

Chris arrived back at the hotel and wandered into the lobby. His mind was going over everything that had happened, everything that had been said, since he'd gone to Lily's. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his heart now that things were starting to get sorted. There was still the issue of their suspensions and Kady's punishment to deal with but, once that was over, things might actually start getting... normal? Good? Either way, he was kind of intrigued by what may happen in the future.

Stopping at the front desk, Chris asked for the spare key to his room, explaining that he'd given the other one to his daughter. The receptionist didn't hesitate in handing it over and Chris thanked her before heading for the elevator. He couldn't wait to crawl into the bed in his room and get some sleep. God knew what time Kady would wake him in the morning and it was already after 4AM now. It had been a long night.

When the elevator reached his floor and let him out, Chris walked quickly down the hallway to his room. Slipping the key into the lock, he wondered if Kady had been okay. He hoped she hadn't woken to find him gone and then destroyed the room in a rage but couldn't rule it out completely, given her volatile temper. Opening the door quietly, he stepped into the room and stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. Jeff Hardy was sharing his daughter's bed. His fourteen year old daughter's bed, at that. Chris stalked over and pulled Jeff from the bed, waking him up quite effectively.

"What the..." Jeff stammered, waking to find hands around his throat as Chris threw him up against a wall.

"What the fuck were you doing in Kady's bed you bastard!" Chris accused. Jeff tried to pull Chris' hands away but the bigger man applied more pressure in a way that left Jeff gasping for air. The commotion woke Kady and she slowly realized what was happening.

"Dad! Stop! What are you doing to him?" Kady screamed, jumping out of her bed and trying to get between her father and Jeff. The desperation in her voice didn't go unnoticed by Chris.

"I'm killing him, that's what I'm doing to him!" Chris explained seriously.

"I can see that. The question is – why are you killing him?" Kady shot back.

"What was he doing in your bed?" Chris asked, turning his eyes away from Jeff for a moment as he focused on her.

"We were watching Tv. I guess we fell asleep. Nothing else." Kady assured him. Chris searched her eyes and didn't find even a hint of a lie. He turned his attention back to Jeff.

"Is that true?" He asked.

Jeff had continued furiously trying to loosen Chris' grip on his throat but to no avail. He gave up and nodded as much as he could, instead. Chris slowly released his grip on the smaller man, lowering him so that his feet touched the ground again. Once Chris' hands had been removed from his neck, Jeff spoke up.

"You honestly thought I'd do something to hurt her? Thanks, man. I'm out of here." He decided, pulling the key he'd been given from his pocket and tossing it onto Chris' bed before walking out of the room. Chris ran a hand over his head and through his hair, avoiding eye contact with Kady.

"You're such a dork sometimes, you know that?" Kady smirked. Chris looked at her in confusion. He'd been sure she'd be angry at him for jumping to conclusions like that.

"A dork? Then what would that make you? Dork junior?" He teased. Kady hit him lightly in the arm before going back over to her bed.

"You can apologize to him later. How's mom? Did you find her?" She wondered nervously.

"Yeah, I found her. She's a little hungover but I think she'll live." Chris nodded.

"Hungover? She went out drinking? Wow." Kady mused, never knowing her mother to be much of a drinker.

"She did, but I doubt she'll be doing it again. Hangover of the worst kind." He laughed, deliberately leaving out any mention of Lily's gentleman caller.

"So... does she still hate me?" Kady asked quietly as she pulled the blankets up to her chin. Chris sat on his own bed and looked his daughter in the eye, wanting her to believe what he was about to tell her.

"She loves you more than ever, baby. She just... needs some time. Everything will work out, though. You'll see. Now, back to sleep, monster. Sun will be up soon. Don't wake me until ten, at least, got it?" He hoped. Kady nodded and rolled over, leaving Chris to get ready for bed. As he reached down to turn the lamp off, Kady spoke up again and her words sent shivers down his spine.

"Night, dad. I love you."

"Love you, too, baby." He replied, just as softly.

The next morning, Kady was woken at almost ten by someone banging on the door. Wondering if it was Jeff coming to get an apology or whatever, Kady slipped out of bed and quietly made her way over to the door. She pulled it open and almost fell over in shock.

"Mom... what are you doing here?" She questioned in disbelief.

"I got a bit of a wakeup call last night. Your dad's very convincing when he wants to be. Can I come in?" Lily explained. She was a little hesitant as to how Kady was going to react to her being there.

"Sure, I guess so." Kady nodded as she stepped aside to let Lily in. As she closed the door, she looked over to see that Chris was still out like a light.

"He didn't want to be woken until ten... think we should leave him?" She pondered.

"Yeah, leave him. I kind of wanted to talk to you alone anyway. Can we..." Lily replied, motioning towards the couch in the living room. Kady nodded quietly and led the way over before sitting down hesitantly. She wasn't sure what to make of her mother being there after everything that they'd been through the previous day and, so, was a little more subdued than usual.

"Kady... god, I don't even know where to start. I need to say so much to you but... I'm sure it's all going to come out wrong." Lily stammered, suddenly losing any confidence she'd talked into herself on the way to the hotel.

"Just start talking and see what happens." Kady shrugged. Lily took a deep breath and picked a point to start at.

"What you did during the taping last night was so incredibly frustrating for me. It's like I was watching you traveling the same old path, doing the same old things. I wanted better for both of us here, ya know? I wanted this to be a fresh start. But, you pulled the same shit you always do and... things got messed up. I know it's partly my own fault for not keeping a better eye on you, so I can't completely blame you for it. It just... pushed me over the edge. Everything that's happened just came crashing down and I couldn't take it anymore, baby. I just... I needed to get away. Walking out on you the way I did was wrong, though. I know that now. I'm sorry." Lily confided honestly, only just holding back the tears that were stinging her eyes. Kady looked up at her mother and nodded again, this time in understanding.

"I know I fucked up, big time. I'm sorry for doing it but... I was worried about dad. After all the time we've spent in hospital, I didn't want him adding to it. I just want things to get better... I hate all the fighting. I've had enough of being angry all the time. Hating everything is way too tiring and I just can't be bothered with it anymore." Kady sighed.

"So... think we can start over? I mean, I wouldn't mind a little bit of time to myself first but, soon, can we get past all this?" Lily asked hopefully. Kady thought it over seriously before smiling genuinely.

"I'd like that. I guess spending some time with dad won't be so bad... unless he keeps trying to put Jeff through walls." She laughed. Lily raised an eyebrow in questioning and Kady tried to get her laughter under control.

"He thought Jeff was trying to put moves on me or something because he fell asleep while he was sitting on the bed next to me. We'd been watching Tv together, nothing more." Kady explained. Lily smiled, realizing now that Kady would be safe while she was staying with Chris. He'd protect her, no matter what.

"They don't call him 'Wildcat' for nothing." Lily joked.

"Actually, the chant last night sounded more like 'pussycat'." Kady laughed.

"Quiet, you. It's 'Wildcat' and always will be." Chris spoke up from his bed. He'd been listening to everything that had been said between mother and daughter and finally decided it was time to announce the fact that he was awake to them.

"Yay, he's awake!" Kady giggled before running across the room, throwing herself onto his bed and wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"Careful, brat, I could get used to this." He warned, watching Lily's smile get bigger over Kady's head.

"Fine by me, as long as I get wrestling lessons for my birthday." Kady decided, sitting up and crossing her legs in front of her. From her vantage point, she could see both of her parents perfectly.

"After the crap you pulled last night, who says you're getting anything?" Chris pointed out. Kady pouted, comically, before pointing straight at him.

"Because you owe me, that's why!"

Chris reached out and pulled her down next to him, using his fingers to dig into her ribs and under her arms – tickling her mercilessly. Kady struggled to get out of his grasp, not managing to fight the laughter this situation was creating. Lily sat watching from the living room and laughed along with her daughter. Finally, things seemed to be starting to go right for all of them.

"I give, I give!" Kady screamed. Chris stopped tickling her and Kady rolled off the bed, running back to the living room to snuggle up next to her mother on the couch.

"Don't let the evil man get me." Kady teased. Lily put her arms around Kady before beginning to tickle her, just as Chris had.

"Hey, no fair! Double teaming isn't allowed!" Kady laughed, fighting to get out of her mother's grip.

"And you think playing us off against each other is?" Chris queried.

"As long as it gets me what I want, yeah." Kady smirked.

Chris and Lily looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh. As much as Kady had changed recently, she was still at that annoying teenager stage. She was smart enough to get what she wanted, and she knew it. Problem was, Chris wasn't about to let her manipulate them anymore. He had proved to her already that he was smarter, that he could manipulate her more than she wanted to admit. He also knew that Lily wouldn't back down to her anymore. She'd stand her ground and he'd be right there to back her up.

"All you're getting is grounded, for at least a month. No computer, no cellphone." Lily told her seriously. Kady's jaw dropped.

"A month? You've got to be kidding me! What about my birthday?" Kady questioned.

"A month is pretty fair, considering that's how long most of us are suspended for – at least. What you did could've turned out a lot worse, kid." Chris reasoned. Kady looked down at the pattern on the couch. She knew she couldn't argue with that logic.

"If you behave yourself up until your birthday, we may consider lifting your punishment for it – but only that one day." Lily offered, knowing Kady would need an incentive to behave. Previously, she'd rebel against the punishment and things would just spiral out of control. Lily didn't want that to happen this time.

"I guess that's fair." Kady decided, looking up and nodding in understanding.

It wasn't really going to be that bad. Her cellphone hadn't been replaced since she'd lost it and she could honestly do without the computer as long as she had a regular phone she could use to keep in touch with Danny and Lily while she was having her break. It was about then that her stomach started rumbling loudly.

"Uh oh. Sounds like the monster's hungry." Chris teased, having heard the noise from across the room.

"Yeah. Guess I should eat something before it explodes out of my stomach and devours you two, huh?" Kady joked back.

"Why don't we go down to the restaurant and have breakfast together?" Lily offered, knowing she hadn't been able to bare the thought of eating before facing Kady this morning.

"Sounds like a good plan. Kady, want the shower first?" Chris wondered, sitting up carefully so that he could look at his daughter.

"I wouldn't let her. You'd end up with no hot water." Lily pointed out. Chris laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind when I'm at home with her. I think the supply of hot water in hotels is pretty much endless." He mused. Kady took the opportunity to grab some clothes from her bag before running into the bathroom and locking the door.

"Guess you'll find out." Lily smiled.

Chris nodded and got out of bed completely, not bothered by the fact he was only wearing boxer shorts. Lily, though, became acutely aware of the fact and turned away quickly. She still wasn't quite comfortable seeing him in anything other than full clothing.

"Get over it, Lil! I wrestle in less than this." Chris teased, causing Lily to blush in embarrassment... again. She forced herself to turn back and focus on his eyes, although that soon became too much for her and she looked away again.

"I don't believe it. Lily Myers has lost her flirtatious side." Chris joked, remembering how outgoing Lily had been in high school. Making her blush had become a challenge that only Chris could beat, back then.

"After what you saw last night, are you sure about that?" Lily reminded.

"Hey, I thought we weren't mentioning that ever again. But, since you did, I think I'll put it down to the amount of alcohol you must have consumed. A big greasy breakfast should take care of that hangover for you." Chris figured.

"The word 'greasy' doesn't sound too appealing." Lily replied, turning a faint shade of green.

"Fine. Dry toast and a glass of water then." Chris laughed as he gathered his clothes for the day out of his suitcase.

"Want a coffee or something before we go to the restaurant?" He offered, trying to fill any silence between them – hoping it wouldn't become uncomfortable between them again.

"No, thanks. I think I've had enough coffee today. I had three before I got in the car this morning." Lily admitted.

"Yikes. You'll be bouncing off the walls worse than Kady soon." Chris laughed.

"Quit talking about me and go shower. I'm hungry." Kady told him as she stepped out of the bathroom fully clothed, her hair still dripping slightly.

"Yes, ma'am." Chris mock saluted and disappeared into the bathroom.

Once Chris was ready, the three of them made their way down to the hotel's restaurant together. Chris had his arm around Kady's shoulder and the girl was holding tightly to her mother's hand, pulling her along. As they walked into the restaurant, they almost collided with someone coming out. Kady let go of Lily's hand and reached out to stop the person from walking past them.

"Jeff, wait. Dad has something he wants to say to you. Don't you, dad?" Kady urged, turning to glare at her father.

"Ah, yeah, I do. I'm really sorry about what I did last night, man. I totally overreacted. I'm kind of new to the fatherhood thing so that whole situation caught me off guard a little." Chris admitted honestly. Jeff took the words to heart and nodded.

"I guess I can forgive you. Next time maybe you'll stop to ask questions before you try putting someone through a wall, though, right?" He wondered.

"Maybe. Depends on the person. Anyway, I really do appreciate that you stayed with her and everything. Thanks, man." Chris smiled, offering Jeff a hand to shake. Jeff took it and made peace with him quickly before turning to Lily.

"Good to see that you're okay. You had Chris rather worried." He smiled. Lily hung her head slightly, avoiding what she thought was an accusing gaze.

"Yeah, I know. We got things sorted though. Everything's good now." She told him. Jeff nodded.

"That's awesome. Well, I'm off to the gym. Talk to you all later." He decided before reaching out and messing up Kady's hair. As she tried to smooth it down again, Jeff waved and walked away.

"That guy needs help, or less sugar or... something." Kady fumed, brushing her hair behind her ears.

"Want me to put him through a wall next time I see him?" Chris offered as Kady led the way into the restaurant.

"Nah, he's not worth it. You're already suspended anyway... doing that would lose you your job for sure." She pointed out.

"Thanks for reminding me." Chris smirked. Kady grinned and patted his arm gently.

"Any time, father. That's what I'm here for... to be your memory in your old age." She teased.

"Come here, you." Chris laughed, pulling Kady into a headlock.

"Hey, watch the hair!" Kady giggled as she tried to pull herself free.

"Oh, you mean this hair?" Lily asked devilishly before messing Kady's hair up again. Kady screamed quietly and tried to tickle Chris' rib area. It didn't seem to bother him.

"I'm not ticklish, kiddo. You get that from your mother."

"Well, well, well. What have we got here? Swiss Family Robinson?" A voice spoke up off to one side of them and Chris released Kady quickly before turning to face the person.

"James. Imagine seeing you up this early. I was almost positive you'd be sleeping off a killer hangover." He shot back with the same amount of dry humor James' barb had held.

"Whatever, Harris. I think I deserved to get drunk last night after what your kid went and did. Fucking suspension." James spat, his anger from the previous night hadn't abated by much. If anything, the headache he had was making it slightly worse.

"You let her stay out there. You're just as much to blame as she is." Lily defended. Chris nodded in agreement.

"Oh, right. Like you're Little Miss Innocent when you're the one that was meant to be fucking watching her in the first place." James accused, stepping closer to the trio. Chris tried to push Kady behind him but she moved from his grasp and stepped up to James so she was standing toe to toe with him.

"Leave my mother alone! I'm the one that fucked up, not her. She told me to stay in her office but I didn't listen. And, mom, it isn't his fault he didn't make me go to the back. I begged him not to so that part's my fault too. I never meant to get anyone else into trouble, I swear. You can be as mad at me as you want, James but... I honestly don't care right now. I've got my mom and dad in one place and they're not trying to kill each other, or me, so excuse us while we go and have breakfast together." Kady spoke calmly, only turning her gaze away from James when she'd finished talking so she could take her parents by the hands and pull them past James.

"Wow. I think that's the first time I've ever heard you refer to James by his real name." Chris mused as Kady pulled them towards a table.

"Yeah, well, I still think he's a drunken, hick cowboy so don't go getting your hopes up." Kady retorted with a smile.

"Your father was one of those, once. Well, drunk cowboy, anyway. He grew up real fast when he found out about you, though." Lily pointed out as they all sat down. Chris sat next to Kady and Lily sat across from her.

"Really? I can't imagine you going out and getting drunk." Kady figured after thinking it over.

"I can barely believe it now, either. I was a mess back then. Can't believe I never got kicked out of school, or home." Chris mused, thinking back on things.

"It was because of your arrogant charm. You could talk your way out of anything." Lily smiled fondly, seemingly also lost in memory.

"Or into anything." He smirked. Lily blushed brighter than he'd ever seen her blush before and Kady groaned.

"Dude, that is so gross! Way too much information!"

"What? I meant parties and stuff." Chris laughed.

"Sure ya did... not." Kady shook her head, not believing him for a second. She was really starting to enjoy having her parents both with her. It kind of made her sad to think about how many opportunities like this one she'd missed out on over the years.

"So... how did you guys tell your parents about... ya know... me?" Kady wondered, hoping to diffuse the embarrassing situation for her mother.

"I made Chris tell my father. Can you imagine how thrilled your grandfather was? Mom knew pretty much as soon as I did – she'd insisted on taking me to the doctor because I'd been feeling so ill." Lily explained.

"And then, once your grandfather knew, we invited my parents to their house for dinner one night and I just kind of... slipped it into the conversation." Chris continued.

"Oh, right... just kind of? They were all talking about other things and Chris says 'I got Lily pregnant' before carrying on with saying something else. He had to repeat it three times before they actually believed him." Lily laughed.

"And, what happened after that?" Kady wondered, in awe of the information she was learning. She'd never been given this much to go on by Lily before. Usually Lily would cut off any line of questioning by saying she had to run errands or cook dinner or something.

"My dad told me he ought to beat the life out of me. Mom said she ought to let him. I was getting kind of worried but then Lily spoke up saying she didn't want me dead because... our... our baby was going to need me." Chris stated, getting choked up by this particular part of the memory.

"And, I was right, wasn't I? The little Daddy's Girl she was." Lily pointed out, forcing Chris into a corner.

"Yeah, you were right. Happy now?" Chris asked, his eyes glassy with tears as he stared at her.

"Sorry it's taken so long... we're a tad busy. Can I take your orders?" A waiter asked from the end of the table. Kady breathed a sigh of relief at the timely interruption and scanned the menu quickly.

"Bacon and Eggs and a hot chocolate." Kady and Chris ordered in unison.

"I'll just have a coffee, please." Lily decided quietly, knowing she'd stepped over the line a little.

Once the waiter was gone, silence descended on the table. Kady shifted uncomfortably, trying to think of some way to get them back to joking about things. Coming up empty, she rested her elbows on the table and dropped her chin into her hands sullenly. Chris caught the look on Kady's face and knew something had to be done before chaos could take them over again.

"So, brat... assuming everything goes well, what would you like to do for your birthday this year?" He asked her, hoping to get the conversation flowing again.

"Um... can we... take over the world? I've always wanted to do that." Kady smiled.

"Sure, Brain. Which one of us is gonna be your stupid sidekick?" Lily asked, remembering one of Kady's old favorite cartoons.

"Why, I thought you'd never ask, Pinky. Sorry, dad, you're too smart. You'd probably be the one to foil my evil plans." Kady figured.

"Sounds fine to me." Chris laughed. Kady leaned back in her chair and tucked one leg underneath herself.

"I don't know. I guess I don't really care what happens for my birthday, as long as you're both part of it. Oh, and Danny, too." She decided seriously.

"Ah, Danny. I guess he'll find it amusing to know that you asked for wrestling lessons for your birthday." Chris pointed out.

"You wouldn't tell him... would you?" Kady questioned.

It was something she'd been thinking about for a while now. Danny was determined to start training at eighteen and Kady had finally figured... why not join him? He was her best friend, the closest thing she'd had to family for such a long time. She wanted to do something for him... to surprise him. Plus, she was starting to have dreams about them becoming a tag team and taking on people like The Naturals. It was getting seriously creepy.

"Why shouldn't I?" Chris asked with a mischievous look on his face.

"Because I kind of wanted to surprise him. I used to tell him I hated anything related to wrestling but... after being around it for this long, I can't say it's really that bad anymore." Kady shrugged.

"I don't know if I like the idea of you training to wrestle. You're too young. And a girl." Lily decided as the waiter brought over their orders.

"There are plenty of female wrestlers. Gail Kim, for one." Kady pointed out. Chris groaned.

"Pick a better example, please?" He laughed. Kady shook her head, her point being made.

"Gail Kim isn't my daughter so I don't have to worry about her getting hurt. You, on the other hand, are not stepping foot in a wrestling ring. Never again, I should say." Lily mused, realizing that Kady had already been in a ring, the previous night.

"Training's not really that dangerous, Lil. Maybe we should talk it over?" Chris reasoned, not wanting to say no to the idea completely.

"Absolutely not. Now eat your breakfast, both of you." Lily stated with finality before sipping at her coffee.

"So much for things changing." Kady mused before taking a mouthful.

"Let it drop, baby." Chris told Kady, his eyes locked on Lily's. He knew that, if things were going to work between the three of them in the future, the lines of communication between himself and Lily needed some serious attention.

Later that day, Lily and Chris walked Kady to Dixie's office. The three of them had agreed that Kady needed to make amends for what she'd done the previous night. The first step would be to apologize to management. Then, she'd have to face James again, as well as The Naturals. In all honesty, Kady wasn't looking forward to this. She knew she'd done wrong, she didn't need six total strangers telling her so.

More to the point, she wasn't sure how exactly she was going to fix things. She could apologize all she wanted but it didn't mean they had to believe her. After looking up at Chris and Lily for a moment, Kady took a deep breath and knocked at the door. She was told to enter and did so quickly, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible. She walked in alone and closed the door behind her before turning to look at the three people that were standing or sitting around the desk.

"Kadence. What can we do for you?" Dixie asked, looking up from her pile of papers quickly. She wasn't sure why Chris had asked for them to see his daughter.

"I... I have something I need to say." Kady explained quietly before looking down at the floor. She still wasn't sure how she was going to make this up to everyone who had been affected by it.

"Well, out with it then. We don't have all day." Jeff Jarrett spoke up, irritated by the fact that he wasn't in his locker room, going over the plan for the next show with his 'crew'.

"Settle down, boy. Let the kid talk." Jerry scolded Jeff. It amused Kady slightly, the dynamic between father and son overtaking the business aspect.

"Um... it's about what I did last night. I knew it was wrong to go out there but I did it anyway. When James tried to send me backstage, I begged him not to. I just wanted to make sure my dad was okay. I know Andy had a score to settle but I didn't want him sending my father to the hospital. The fact remains that it was wrong, stupid and dangerous of me. I'm really sorry. I never meant to put anyone else at risk but I know I did. It won't ever happen again, just... please don't fire anyone because of me. They don't deserve to be punished for my mistake." Kady pleaded.

"As heartfelt as that apology was, the problem with it is that James should've known better than to let you stay out there. The issues between Chris and Andy had nothing to do with you. The punishment for those three will most definitely fit their crimes. As for Chase, he really had no control over what went on. We just figure he could use some time out to clear his head after all of this. No one will be fired... at least, not yet." Jerry assured her. Kady let out a small sigh of relief and nodded, understanding where he was coming from.

"As for you, Ms Myers... I hope that Chris and Lily have taken your punishment seriously. Letting you off for this wouldn't be good for you – or them." Jerry continued.

"Oh, believe me, they're taking it very seriously. My birthday's coming up and, at this stage, I'm not going to be allowed to celebrate it if I mess up again. I'm grounded for a month. I deserve a lot worse, I know. I think they're going a little easy on me because of everything that's happened." Kady admitted honestly.

"After the things that James has told me, Chris needs to take you over his knee and spank the hell out of you, if ya ask me." Jeff figured, standing up from his spot sitting on the edge of Dixie's desk.

"Glad no one asked you then, Jeff." Dixie told him, a slight warning note in her voice. Jeff held his hands up in surrender and began pacing the room slowly.

"I know it seems like I'm getting off easy but... I have to deal with the fact that I could have lost five people their jobs because I wanted to make sure my dad was okay. I'm not used to feeling that. Things have been messed up for so long but, I'm working on it. I'm trying to make things right with everyone, myself included. If you don't want to accept that, Mr Jarrett, that's your choice. I've done all I can." Kady shrugged, only barely managing to keep her cool. Losing it now wouldn't help her case any.

"I think you've done fine, Kady. Why don't you go on out to your folks now. Jeff can stew in his own juices all he wants." Jerry smiled kindly. Kady nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, before I go... I just wanted to say thanks for giving my mom the job here. It meant a lot to her. I'm sorry she hasn't been around as much as she should've been but... she's the best mother I know. I mean, who else would hop a flight to Kentucky with their ex just to make sure their kid wasn't hurt? She's got the right amount of heart to help you make this company something great, if you let her." She told them before disappearing out the door.

Once she'd joined her parents again, Kady put a smile on her face so that they wouldn't worry about her. The last thing she wanted was to stress them out and have them at each other's throats again. Chris put an arm around her shoulders and the three of them walked towards the catering area, hoping that James, Andy and Chase would all be there.

"Did it go okay in there?" Chris whispered to her as they walked.

"Yeah, it was alright. Dixie and Jerry were okay... Jeff, not so much. James has talked to him, apparently." Kady told him, wondering what it was that James had said exactly.

"Really? I'll have to have a word with my tag partner, I think." Chris mused.

"No, it's okay. I got it." Kady assured him, not wanting Chris to make things worse with James.

She just wanted things between them to go back to what they used to be – the easy friendship they'd shared for so long. She'd never meant to drive a wedge between them at all. As they entered catering, Kady spotted James in a familiar position – sitting alone at a table with a plate of food and a couple of bottles of beer in front of him. She turned to Chris and Lily and stopped them going any further.

"Well, there's James. Guess I may as well get him out of the way first after what happened earlier. Why don't you guys get a drink or something?" She offered, wanting to face James on her own. Chris nodded and headed for the counter but Lily was a little more hesitant.

"I don't know about this. He was pretty upset this morning..." Lily trailed off.

"Mom, the longer I let him be angry, the worse it's going to get between him and dad. I need to do this. Besides, how else is Dixie going to explain calling him and The Naturals in when they're meant to be suspended if she can't tell them it was because of me?" Kady reasoned.

"I don't know. I just don't want you to get hurt, baby." Lily mused, glancing over at James.

"You and dad won't be far away. If anything happens, you know dad will kick his ass." Kady smirked. It felt weird, being able to say that now.

"Alright... good luck." Lily finally agreed before hugging her and then walking away. Kady took a deep breath and walked over to James' table.

"Hey. Can I sit here?" She asked timidly, not sure how he was going to react to her being there.

"Free country." James replied, not bothering to look up from his plate, except to grab the open bottle of beer and take a swig. Kady sat down across from him and clasped her hands on the table in front of her. This was probably going to be the hardest person she'd have to make amends with, she figured.

"James, I know you and I didn't exactly start things off right and... I guess it's my fault. I had an attitude towards you and everyone else. I... I don't want to cause any trouble between you and dad, so... I'm sorry for everything." Kady blurted, her eyes focused on her hands rather than on him. James put the beer bottle back on the table and leaned back in his chair, his food abandoned for the moment.

"You're just saying that cos your daddy's making ya. You don't mean a word of it, do you?" James challenged skeptically.

"Not true. I messed up and now I'm trying to fix it. Everyone has to grow up sometime, right?" Kady replied defensively.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're honestly, truly sorry then." James told her, leaning back over the table now. He pushed his food aside and rested his arms in front of himself. Kady looked up and met his hard gaze, feeling rather small and insignificant all of a sudden.

"James, I am honestly, truly sorry that I got you and the others into trouble last night. I'm sorry about my whole attitude towards you and everyone else and I'm sorry that you think I'm such a horrible person. I've learned a lot from all this and I won't make the same mistakes again, I assure you." She apologized without breaking eye contact.

James stared into her green eyes and saw the glassiness that usually meant tears were threatening to fall. He sighed and sat back, readjusting his cowboy hat on his head, his gaze never leaving her.

"You know what, Kadence? I still don't believe you... from what I've learned about you, you wouldn't have much trouble coming up with a good lie."

Kady couldn't believe what she was hearing, and scoffed. "I can't believe this. I'm apologizing, I'm trying to make things right! What do you want from me?"

"I want you to think about what you're saying, kid. You're not apologizing to me because it's the right thing to do, you're doing it so you can keep your 'happy family' world and get back into the good books with mommy and daddy," James guessed, the bitterness of his words stinging Kady a lot. "Guess what, little girl? It's not that easy to work me over like that."

Kady's arm fell to her side and her fist clenched into a tight ball; the rage was now boiling in the pits of her stomach, and her expression of disbelief turned into a scowl. How dare he accuse her of being insincere! She was trying to do the right thing and he was just throwing it back in her face! James noticed her tense up, but didn't back down at all. A simple, quick and apparently meaningless apology wasn't gonna fix anything. Kady had done more than endanger herself, all of them, and almost cost them their jobs last night... she had also proved herself to be a reckless, dangerous, irresponsible, immature punk kid that needed to be taught a serious lesson.

If Chris let her get away with this, James knew this would be the end of their partnership. It seemed trivial enough, and that it shouldn't be enough to come between their friendship, but James figured that if Chris wasn't going to keep his own kid in control, then there wouldn't be much reason to trust him anymore after what happened. This was more than just about their jobs.

"Ah, so now that sparkle returns," he muttered, keeping his attention on his food but noting her growing physical tenseness and aggressiveness in response to him.

"And what's that supposed to mean, jerk?" she angrily retorted, losing patience quickly.

"That same wise-ass, I-will-kick-your-ass-if-you-mess-with-me look that you had the first day you came here," he explained and casually leaned back in his seat. "Believe it or not, Kady, I care about ya too. Chris is a brother to me, and seeing what he went through to prove himself to you was fucking insane. He became a different person... a father. I wanna believe you, Kady... but seeing the hell you put my best friend through, and your mother... you haven't given me any God damn reason to trust you, or even to think that you might be for real. Now, you may have regained your parents' trust, but I'm not so forgiving. This is more than just about getting me, Andy, and Chase in trouble for your little stunt... imagine what would've happened if you got hurt out there? Chris would've been devastated; Lily would've gone insane... and I would never forgive myself for letting anything happen to you, Kady. That guilt for not sending you backstage is tearing me apart, because you could've been seriously hurt, and I lost the trust of a man who I consider to be family. You don't get it. And until you do, you can take that fucked up apology and try lay it on Andy and Chase and see if they'll accept it."

James finished his little rant, never once taking his eyes off the child who meekly looked away, ashamed. Kady never realized the hurt James was feeling – they didn't know each other as well as they should, but he cared about her through the fact that she's Chris' daughter.

"You still don't get it do ya, kid?" he added. "You don't realize that, without even trying, you've gotten people to care about you, even in your little antisocial world that you exist in. It's not just your parents. Me. Chase. Andy. Hell, even that Sterling freak who I've seen hanging around here... you don't owe us an apology anymore than you should be showing us that you have changed. That you are willing to make an effort. After you do that, then and only then will I accept an apology from you. If you're not... then, I guess we have nothing left to discuss. Tell Chris that he and I are okay. You and I, however...?" he trailed off, and Kady felt as if his eyes were boring holes into her forehead. James calmly waited for her response, and didn't even falter when he saw a tear slide down her cheek. It was the first sign that he was actually getting to her.

"Wow..." she whispered. "I had no idea..."

"You're fourteen. You're not supposed to. But you needed to hear it. And you need to take it to heart, kid, otherwise you're never gonna understand... and every time you fuck up, the world won't be forgiving of you, until you do."

Kady hung her head and covered her mouth with her hand and James pushed his chair back and stood up, just as she let out a small cry. He moved around to her side of the table and knelt down, and Kady turned to him. Her tears stained the makeup she wore, and he put his hand on her back, reassuringly.

"_Now_, you're finally getting it," he commented. "Ain't ya?"

She nodded and put her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder, and James willingly returned the hug.

"Fuck, he's made her cry!" Chris hissed at Lily, pointing over her shoulder and she turned around to see what he was referring to. "I'm gonna kill that bastard..."

He moved to get up, but after a few seconds of studying what was happening, Lily grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Chris, no..." she replied. "Let it go... wait."

James pulled away just enough to see Kady's face, and brushed some hair out of her eyes. "I forgive you, girl."

Kady sniffed, and stared with confusion at him. "What? You do?"

"Yeah. You're crying, ain't ya? That must mean some of what I said got through to you. You're gonna make the effort."

"Trust me, it all got through," she chuckled, using her sleeve to wipe her eyes. "Believe that."

"I do. Your parents do. See?" he nodded to the table her parents were sitting at, and grinned. "I'm betting Chris has a look on his face that suggests he wants to kill me now, for making his little baby girl cry?"

Kady looked over his shoulder, and sure enough, Chris' face and body language more than spoke enough that he was enraged, and only Lily's grip on his arm was keeping him from jumping across the table and beating James to within an inch of his life. Without meaning to, a giggle passed through her lips and she nodded.

"He's pissed, alright."

"Well you better go and call off the dogs so I can eat..."

"So... we're okay?"

"Yeah, girl, we're okay. Now get lost and let me finish my food." James joked, pulling his plate back in front of him.

"Didn't you only just have breakfast?" Kady wondered.

"Yeah, what's your point? I'm a growing lad." James stated proudly. Kady stood up and grabbed the capped beer bottle from the table.

"I think dad could use this more than you. Mind if I give it to him as a sign that everything's cool between you guys?" She wondered, turning the bottle in her hands.

"You're just trying to get me to drink less, aren't you?" James figured.

"Of course. You're gonna have to watch my dad's back in the ring again, soon. Can't have you going on a bender and getting a major hangover." Kady agreed. James laughed.

"Fine, take the damn beer. I've got more where that came from anyway." James smirked. Kady laughed and said goodbye to him before walking over to the table her parents were sitting at.

"All sorted. Dad, James wanted you to have this." Kady smiled, handing the beer to her father.

"Wanted me to have it? Like hell. Kady, did you steal the man's beer?" Chris asked, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Yeah, but it's fate isn't as bleak as the fate of the last bottle I took from him. That one wound up in the bin." Kady grinned.

"That's my girl." Lily smiled, giving Kady another hug.

"What just happened over there?" Chris demanded, using his thumb to brush a tear away from Kady's cheek. "I swear, if he—"

"It's nothing bad, dad. James just... made me see something that I never really thought of, I guess," she explained, shrugging.

"And what's that?" Lily pressed, curiously.

"I'll explain later. It's okay, really. Now I just need to find Andy and Chase. Have you two seen them yet?" Kady wondered.

* * *

**A/N2:** So... things finally seem to be coming together for Chris, Kady and Lily. But, it's not over yet. Kady still has to apologize to The Naturals... and you all know that Lizzie and I are mildly evil so, of course, there'll be some drama there... maybe. Guess you'll have to wait to find out. Now, where did I put that whip? _Phoenix wanders off muttering incoherently about whipping certain wrestlers mentioned in the first author's note._


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. That is all.

**A/N:** Wow. Lizzie just sent me this chapter and told me it was the last one. I can't believe it's over already... well, for you guys anyway, since we did finish writing it a while ago. Anyway, this chapter kind of ties things up, starting straight where Chapter 17 left off – Kady facing The Naturals. (Cue cheesy 'dun dun dun' music). Read on and enjoy. Thanks. **_Phoenix

* * *

_**

"Try the ring area. If they're not in the ring, they'll be around it." Chris offered.

Kady smiled, took a sip of Chris' Coke and then turned and left the catering area. She took a few deep breaths on the way, trying to calm herself down properly after her conversation with James. She was pretty sure her makeup was a mess but it didn't really matter at this point. She just needed to get the apologies over with so they could all move on.

Hopefully Andy and Chase wouldn't be as hard to convince as James was, although James had made her look at the situation differently. Walking out into the ring area, Kady spotted Austin Aries messing around in the ring with someone she hadn't met yet. Andy and Chase were sitting up in the stands watching the action in the ring. Taking another deep breath, she headed straight over to them.

"Hey, guys. Can I talk to you?" She asked hesitantly. Chase turned away from her and spoke to Andy.

"I'm outta here. Come by the locker room if Dixie calls us in, okay?"

"Dixie won't be calling you in... at least, not yet. My dad asked her to get you guys in here so I could try fixing things." Kady admitted.

"In that case, I'm going to the movies. The less I have to do with you right now, the better." Chase told her with a determined look on his face.

"Sit down, man. Let her talk all she wants, won't change a thing." Andy finally spoke up with a shrug. Chase glared at his tag partner but sat down again, folding his arms across his chest defiantly. Kady's heart sank. These two weren't about to make things easy for her, and why should they? After all, she did almost cost them their jobs when they had done nothing wrong.

"Look," she started, determined to not let them knock her confidence down. "I know you guys hate me for what I did, and I know I really, really, screwed things up for you... trust me, it's not like I was planning on any of this happening!"

"Well, you down at ringside dangling the handcuffs from your finger sure says to me you planned it!" Chase snapped at her, and he didn't care about the hostility he was showing to a kid.

Wrestling – professional wrestling – was a serious business and the dangers to wrestlers were universally known. For this punk kid to come out and undermine all that, and place them all in serious danger... she had a lot of nerve coming to them now with a sob story. Chase's eyes were practically glowing red from anger.

"You may be only a kid, but you acted more like a diva out there than any of the women on the roster," he scathed. "Don't tell me Harris let you off on this..."

"He didn't!" she stressed, with growing frustration. No one was believing her and she was ending up repeating herself. It was getting very annoying. "I'm grounded for a month, I don't even get to celebrate my birthday, and—"

"Whoa, slow down..." Andy cut in. "You honestly think that's enough? Kadence, you could've lost more than your birthday out there."

"I know! I know I shouldn't have put myself in danger like that and I'm sorry!" she said again, this time more desperately. Chase groaned.

"Oh great, man. We've made the little girl cry. Now here comes the waterworks and the 'I just wanted to make sure my daddy was okay' speech."

"What is wrong with you guys? I'm trying to do what's right here! None of you are making it easy..."

"And why should we, Kady?" Andy snapped. "You're making it seem like we can simply forget what happened last night and be on our merry way. You're dreaming, girl..."

Meanwhile, Chris had stepped out onto the stage to keep an eye on her. After what had happened with James, he wasn't sure Kady could take much more of this, and it was admirable how she was finally pushing her pride aside to do the right thing. Perhaps there was hope for her yet. He crossed his arms and stood next to the scaffolding, and though he couldn't hear what was being said, from how Kady was standing and the serious expression on her face he knew she was having a hard time keeping it together. Chris wanted nothing more than to go to her and he wouldn't hesitate to mess Andy and Chase up if Kady was made to feel worse than she does. None of them noticed him standing there, though.

"What is that you want, Kady?"

"I just wanted to do something good for my dad," she replied, her voice cracking with emotion. "I didn't know what else to do."

For reasons not really understood by Chase, Andy was more understanding and even sympathetic to her situation, but he remained silent. Kady decided to give up there and then - she had no strength left to fight this out with them - and she turned and began walking up the stage; her eyes focused directly on the floor in front of her. But then, two feet appeared in front of her and two strong, and familiar hands pressed on her shoulders making her look up. Chris was looking down at her, sternly, and Kady breathed a sigh of relief.

"How's it going, baby?" he asked, though was pretty sure of the answer already.

"Horrible. I was right all along, they're complete morons."

"No, I was the one that said that. You were the one that said Andy Douglas was an ass..." Chris replied, with a charming smile.

"Whatever," she muttered and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Either way, they're assholes..."

"Hey now," Chris lifted her head up so he could see into her beautiful green eyes. "No tears. No more God damn tears, Kady... we've had enough of that shit."

"They don't believe a word I'm saying, dad, what am I supposed to do about it?" she figured, with a hopeless shrug. "It's their choice."

"Yeah? We'll see about that," he grabbed her hand and took her back down the stage to where Chase and Andy still remained, and stopped only feet from them. "Stevens. Douglas."

They looked up.

"Fuck. What now, Harris?" Chase responded, with disinterest.

"I hear you're not taking Kadence seriously."

"Oh, I'm taking her seriously. I just don't care."

Kady feared her dad would physically go after Chase but, instead, he simply stood there with his arm around her protectively.

"You might wanna rethink that, Stevens."

"Why should I?"

"Because she's just a kid. She made a mistake and she's sorry for it."

"And you let her off with just grounding her for a month," Andy mocked. "It's complete bullshit."

"No, what's bullshit, Douglas, is that you're willing to hold a grudge against a fourteen-year-old child," Chris replied, logically. "Don't you have better things to do? Come on, man, she's sorry. She's been beating herself up over it, she's gone through enough... just let it go."

"Easy for you to say. You're her dad, you're more willing to overlook this shit," Chase said. "She almost cost us our jobs for no reason."

"But you've still got your jobs," Chris pointed out. "And she's been crying herself to sleep over this, over what she's worried about with me and Lily. She just wants to make things right and move on. Are you both honestly so heartless that you're going to deny her that?"

Chris looked between Andy and Chase, watching his words sinking in. Beside him, Kady shook slightly, possibly from nerves and repressed sobs. He pulled his daughter closer to him and looked down at her, offering her a small wink as reassurance. She shook her head, taking the continued silence from The Naturals as a bad sign.

"You have the nerve to call us heartless? Funny, coming from the guy that walked out on his kid while she was in hospital and then put someone else in there too. Excuse me if I don't fall all over myself to make her feel better." Andy commented wryly.

"He only left me because he didn't know what else to do. He was scared. What he did to you was wrong, yeah, but he apologized for it just like I'm trying to for what I did. You took him at his word then, why can't you take me at mine now?" Kady implored, her eyes begging Andy and Chase to give her another chance. "Please?"

Andy hung his head, his hair falling down to cover his face. Chase leaned back in his seat and studied his tag partner carefully, just as Chris was doing to both of them. Chase could tell that Andy knew a whole lot more about the whole situation with Chris and his kid than he knew himself. The things that had happened in their past two matches against AMW told him enough to know that it was complicated and messy. He wasn't sure he wanted to know everything. For now, he'd had enough of the part of the situation that he knew about. He nudged Andy who looked up at him, his hair still blocking Chris and Kady's view of his face.

"Think the kid's made her point?" He wondered. Andy nodded slightly and Chase turned his attention to the father-daughter pair in front of them. "Fine, we accept your apology. Doesn't mean we have to be happy about what happened. I mean, I got suspended for being handcuffed to a guardrail. It's bullshit."

Kady nodded, knowing she couldn't disagree with what he'd said. His suspension was slightly pointless. But, then, she thought back to what had been said in Dixie's office earlier and figured she should relay it on.

"Jerry Jarrett told me that management view your suspension as more of... time out for you so that you can clear your head. Me being around has messed with your career a lot, even though I never meant for it to. View it as a holiday... I know that's what I thought of my suspension from the last school I was at." She shrugged, a sympathetic smile slowly curving her lips. Maybe things were going to be okay, after all.

"I don't want a holiday, I don't need a holiday. If Andy has to be suspended for what happened then why can't they just put me on the singles roster? Put me in some X-Division matches or something like that." Chase fumed, hating the fact that he was out of action for three weeks for no reason.

"Talk to them about it. Maybe they'll change their minds. I'll support you on it if you need me to – I've already told them that I think your suspension is a joke." Chris told the younger man.

"I'll talk to them. Don't need you fighting my battles for me." Chase brushed his offer aside.

"We feud in the ring, man. Why bring it to the outside?" Chris wondered before tapping Kady's shoulder and leading her away from them.

Chase watched them walk away and was very close to snapping. He never asked to be made part of any of this shit and he was being punished for it, and it sickened him! He would be talking to management alright, about what to do if that kid ever messed with his and Andy's careers again. He was willing to forgive her this one time but the anger didn't dissolve just because he'd accepted her apology. Andy could see his partner stewing, pacing madly back and forth.

"Chase, you gotta calm down…"

"We just let that kid off when we shouldn't have, man…"

"I know. But let it go, who cares anymore?"

"It's the fucking principle of it!"

"And what do you think you're gonna do about it?" Andy challenged. "Without getting her parents fired."

"I wouldn't mind seeing both of them gone," Chase countered thoughtfully and Andy hit him upside his head.

"Cut it out. Forget them. Don't make things worse for yourself, or anyone else," his partner warned. "Let. It. Go."

Chris led Kady backstage, and they didn't stop until they had passed through the curtain. But, then, Kady stopped and looked over her shoulder, worried.

"Somehow I doubt Chase is gonna let this go anytime soon," she sadly commented.

"Can you blame him? Don't stress yourself over it, Kady. He'll get over it," Chris assured her and squeezed her shoulder. It was something that would continue to bother her until she could fully resolve things with Chase but, taking her father's advice, Kady decided to let it go for now. "Come on. Let's find Lily and get the hell outta here. You've still got your sentence to serve."

Kady groaned and remembered the severity of her punishment, and what would happen if she messed up again.

Three weeks later, Kady bounded down the stairs and pulled open the front door of Chris' new house in Orlando, Florida. The house was situated around ten minutes away from Lily's so Kady could go between them as she pleased. Or, she'd be able to once her mother had finally had a sufficient break. For now, she was staying with her father and serving out her punishment.

"Freak boy!" Kady squealed as she saw who was on the other side of the door.

"Uh... Kady?" Danny wondered. This person slightly resembled his best friend but she was... happy. And she didn't look as dark as Kady used to.

"Yes, it's me. I know... weird, right?" Kady mused, tugging at her shirt slightly.

"Weird, yeah. But... I guess it's good. So, am I allowed in or did I suffer that bus ride for nothing?" Danny joked.

"You took the bus?" Kady wondered as she stepped aside to let him in. She couldn't believe he'd catch a bus all the way from Kentucky, just to attend her birthday.

"From the airport." Danny smiled. Kady laughed and smacked him on the arm as she led the way through the house and out the back door where Chris was setting up a table, surrounded by three giggling teenaged girls.

"Abby, Kristen, Maria... this is my best friend ever, Danny. Danny, that's Abby, Kris and Maria." Kady introduced. Danny nodded at the girls but they didn't seem to notice. They were following Chris' every move rather intently.

"Wow. Guess girls in Florida are just as weird as they are in Kentucky." Danny commented to Kady quietly.

"You guys, quit bugging my dad." Kady groaned. Chris laughed and disappeared into the house to organize food and drinks. While he was in there, there was a knock at the door. He abandoned his task and went to see who it was.

"Lil, hey." He smiled as he let his ex in.

"Hi. How's everything going?" Lily asked, looking around slightly.

"Kady's friends are all here - Danny was the last to arrive. They're out the back and, may I just say, I never knew teenaged girls could giggle so damn much." Chris smirked.

"Oh, come on. Think back, old man. Cheerleaders are the worst gigglers known to man and you used to hang out with them." Lily reminded.

"Damn it, I must be showing my age. Don't think the girls care, though." Chris winked, leading the way into the kitchen.

"Ego boosting, is it, Mr Harris?" Lily teased.

"I think I'm more enjoying the fact that it annoys Kady." Chris laughed as he pointed out the window.

Lily looked out and saw Kady, Danny and three of Kady's new friends from school. They seemed to be getting along okay, though Danny was still being given some sideways glances by one of the girls. Lily wasn't sure if the looks were based on a crush or feeling uncomfortable about how strange the boy looked. Kady had changed a lot in the last three weeks, having spent that time one on one with Chris, but Lily doubted that Danny would ever change – not with Jenna as a mother anyway.

"So, feeling refreshed yet?" Chris asked as he prepared some meat that he was going to be barbecuing.

"Are you asking if I want to take Kady back? If so, not yet." Lily smiled.

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm actually enjoying having her around. Just wondering if you were missing her yet."

"Every day. You know, I sometimes find myself going into her room in the mornings to get her up for school. Then I remember she's here and feel like a fool. But, this has been good for all of us. Kady's doing well in school, she's happy. That's all that matters." Lily reasoned.

"Are you happy?" Chris asked suddenly, stopping what he was doing to look Lily in the eye. She smiled as she thought over the question and how she was going to answer it.

"Um... that's a very loaded question. On one hand, I miss Kady something chronic. But, on the other, I've been enjoying being on my own and sorting through things in my own way. So, yeah... I guess I'm happier than I've been for a while. What about you?" Lily turned the question around.

"I've got my baby girl back, she's improving more every day, I've got time off to spend with her... I'm fucking ecstatic." Chris grinned seriously.

"Chase starts back this week, as a singles competitor." Lily put in.

She'd been in contact with Jeff Jarrett on an almost daily basis about the suspensions of herself and the wrestlers that had been involved in the messy situation weeks ago. She was hoping that if she showed that she was keeping up with everything, she'd still have her job with TNA once the suspension was up.

"Yeah? Good for him. Andy will be going crazy. James... he'd be drunk off his nut right now, I'm sure. And you and I get to be here, celebrating our kid's fifteenth birthday. See how everything works out?" Chris laughed.

"Oh, yeah, everything's working out fine... for us. I don't think Andy, Chase and James have been handling their suspensions as well as we have." Lily mused, remembering what Jeff had told her about the three other men.

"Oh? James been bugging management or something?" Chris asked, worry lines creasing his face suddenly.

"Not just James. Chase was at them for his whole suspension about getting a singles run. Andy wanted to know when his suspension would be over and what other punishment he'd be facing. James... well, James wants to know why they want him to enroll in rehab as well as serve the suspension." Lily explained.

"Rehab? No shit. Guess management's sick of him messing up promos and stuff. I'll call him tomorrow and see how he is." Chris decided.

"Mom! Hey, when did you get here?" Kady asked, hugging her mother after coming into the kitchen.

"Hey, sweetie. I haven't been here long. How are you?" Lily wondered, returning the embrace.

"I'm good. Got an A on my science project this week." Kady smiled, handing her mother the assignment sheet that had been stuck to the fridge. Lily read the grade and teacher's comments quickly before handing it back.

"Excellent. I'm so proud of you, baby." She told her daughter seriously.

"Thanks. Hey, dad, Maria wants to know if we can hit the pool yet." Kady inquired, turning her attention towards her father.

"Sure. I'll be cooking shortly, though. Good old Kentucky barbecue." Chris told her, holding up the raw meat.

"Ew. That is so incredibly gross. I think I just lost my appetite." Kady balked.

"Aw. You won't want any cake then, huh?" Chris teased.

"There's gonna be cake?" The girl asked, perking up at the thought.

"Of course. What kind of birthday celebration would it be without cake?"

"Awesome. Yell out when the food's ready. Danny and I are challenging Maria and Abby to a chicken fight in the pool. Kris is going to be referee." Kady informed her parents before disappearing back outside.

"I put money on Danny and Kady. Abby and Maria don't work well together. Plus, I think Kristen has a crush on Danny-boy so, she may end up being a biased ref." Chris joked to Lily as they each grabbed a plate of stuff to take outside to the barbecue.

"Plus, you have to factor in Danny and Kady's almost psychic connection. The other two will be busy calling out instructions to each other and Danny and Kady will be busy attacking, no words needed." Lily agreed.

"You should go do play-by-play commentating, keep me up to speed with what's happening." Chris laughed.

Lily shoved him slightly and headed over to the pool to watch the chicken fight as Chris got down to barbecuing. Once the food was ready, he yelled out to the others to eat fast or be last. The mass evacuation of the pool area had to be one of the funniest sights he'd seen since the last time he'd watched James fall over himself in a drunken stupor. The kids traded gossip as they ate and Chris and Lily listened in, trying to keep up with the he-said, she-said cattiness of the high schoolers lives.

Danny feigned interest but Chris could see he felt a little left out. There was no way for him to know who, or what, the girls were talking about. Chris nudged Kady's foot under the table to get her attention and then motioned towards Danny slightly, trying to convey the point to his daughter. Kady nodded, understanding completely, before trying to think of some way to include her best friend in the conversation.

"Danny, remember that girl Monica at our school in Kentucky? I swear she must have a twin here. The chick is almost identical, acts the same way and everything." Kady told him before turning to the girls. "Louise is so messed up, right?"

"Absolutely! Last week, she told me that she forgot her lunch but she didn't want to eat the cafeteria food because she said it was poisoned." Maria put in.

"Sounds exactly like Monica." Danny nodded, no trace of emotion showing through. Chris noted that everyone had finished eating so he began to get to his feet.

"Danny, help me with the plates?" He asked, giving the teen a way out of the girlish nightmare.

"Sure." Danny agreed quickly, getting up and grabbing Kady and Lily's plates from them. Chris noticed this and smirked. He'd deliberately left Chris to get the plates from Kady's friends.

"Thanks, kid."

Once they'd taken the plates inside, Chris put his lot on the bench and looked at Danny seriously. He felt he'd gotten to know Danny quite well after everything that had happened and kind of thought of him as a surrogate son... well, maybe not that much. But he did respect that the boy was Kady's dearest friend.

"She'll always have a place for you, you know that, right?"

"Huh? What? Oh, sure." Danny nodded, not really knowing what he was agreeing to.

"Danny. You're practically her brother, for God's sake. Just because she's made some... slightly flaky friends, doesn't mean she won't want you in her life anymore. She's just working out who she is now, trying to find her place at the new school and everything." Chris pushed. Danny leaned back against the stove and looked at Chris seriously.

"She's changed, that's for sure. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, quite the opposite. It's just... weird. Like, once she's figured out who she is now, I'm gonna need to figure out the same thing and work out where I fit in. I get it, no big deal." He shrugged.

"It is a big deal. You guys have been there for each other for years and, now, things are different. I'm just trying to let you know that she'll always have a place in her heart for you. And, you're welcome here any time – provided that it's school holidays and your mother knows." Chris warned.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Danny nodded, feeling a little better. It was strange for him to have someone other than his mother and Kady understand him and how his mind was working.

Seeing that Danny was feeling slightly better, Chris went over to the fridge and pulled something from it. As he turned around, Danny caught sight of a birthday cake, complete with chocolate frosting and purple and blue decorations. Chris lowered the cake slightly and Danny read the words that were written across the top.

"Happy birthday, Kady. Make a wish." He recited before looking up and seeing the candles in Chris' hand.

"Dude, she'll freak." He smiled.

Chris nodded and motioned for Danny to head back outside in front of him, so they could hide the cake between the two of them. As Danny walked towards the group of people at the table, Chris started singing 'Happy Birthday'. The other people joined in as Kady tried to hide by putting her arms over her head. How embarrassing could they get?

Chris stopped at the table and Danny moved aside. Chris had placed the candles into the top of the cake as he'd walked so he lit them after placing the cake in front of Kady on the table. He smiled down at his daughter and motioned to the the words written on top of the cake.

"You want me to make a wish?" Kady wondered after reading the cake.

Chris agreed, Danny cheered and Lily and the three girls clapped in encouragement. Kady looked around at the group of people she was with and then down at the flames on the candles. She was trying to think of something, anything, that she could possibly wish for. Getting an idea, she got to her feet and held her hands out dramatically to silence everyone.

"Well, I could try to make a wish but it would probably end up being really corny, really cheesy. Basically, it wouldn't mean a damn thing because there's nothing in the world that I can wish for that would be better than this moment. I've got everything I ever wanted, right here – my mom, my dad and friends. What more could a girl want?" She told the group before leaning over and blowing out the candles quickly.

**END

* * *

**

**A/N2:** _Sobbing is heard as Phoenix wanders back in, clutching a tissue._ So, there we have it, the conclusion of Fractured Reality. After reading through it again before posting it, I've realized just how cheesy the end bit (the birthday scene) is... which is totally my fault. Oh, well. It's done now. So, for the final author's note, I'd just like to say thanks to everyone that has read this and bigger thanks to all those who reviewed it – the feedback was truly appreciated.

And, I'm going to send an even bigger thank you out to Lizzie – dude, without you, this never would've been written. You're a talented and inspiring writer and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for agreeing to co-author this with me. You're a real star and I'm a better writer for knowing you. HUGS!

Now, I'm going to retreat back into my cave and help Lizzie think up ideas for the sequel. If you guys want to see anything happen, let us know in a review. Much appreciated. The final words from **Lizzie** are: LOVE TO ALL MY CHICKENS. Decipher that as you will... lol. **_Phoenix_**


End file.
